Your Heart Will Open Minds: A series of RWBY fan fiction
by UnapologeticallyAuthor
Summary: Update* For all intents and purposes, this fanfic ends at chapter 18 *This series will at first show what I believe the origins of a Bumblebee/White rose relationship would look like. Then, an original plot will begin. Cover art created by my friend LawsonHawk,
1. Chapter 1: Burning Out

**Blake**

I roll onto my right shoulder and look over at Yang who stands by our window, motionless and staring out over Beacon as the sounds of the night envelop us. The light from the fragmented moon shines bright, illuminating my bed and reflecting off of my eyes giving me a perfect view of Yang's silhouetted figure as well as Weiss and Ruby's bunks. The girls lay peacefully, completely enveloped in the comfortable embrace of sleep, but not Yang. Something is troubling her and I can't figure out what it is. All that I know is that I can't sleep, not while she broods.

I can't say when it started, but for some reason finding sleep comes with much more difficulty while Yang is awake. Maybe I just feel safer with her sleeping above me. I don't know. Looking at the clock, I sigh seeing that it's just after three A.M. I have an exam tomorrow morning at eight with Professor Port and I know that I ought to try to sleep. Sighing, I roll over and lay on my back. The action must have been louder than I intended because Yang looks towards me and shrugs apologetically.

"Sorry Blake," she whispers, carefully climbing into her bunk as not to disturb the books that made our two beds a bunk bed.

Why did we even do that? We had more than enough rope to suspend Yang's bed as Ruby had hers. I look up at the younger girl's bunk and see that it is dangerously suspended with a haphazard collection of knots being the only thing keeping her bed above Weiss.

On second thought, I like our method better. My only qualm is that I won't be able to read any of these. Oh well, Beacon has that huge library for a reason.

Hearing Yang snore softly, I exhale contently and close my eyes, letting sleep take me.

* * *

The alarm goes off shaking me out of slumber. I ignore it for as long as I can before punching the infernal device to silence it. It reads five after seven. In seconds, I'm up and in the bathroom. Steam fills the room and I disrobe as I step into the shower stall. The warm water trickles down my body and I smile, running my hands through my hair.

Like the animal whose ears I share, I don't like water all that much but showers are a welcome exception. In all my years, I haven't met a Faunus who didn't like showers and I doubt that I ever will. I shut off the water, feeling a rush of cold air hit me.

I hate the winter. I hate the cold.

I scramble for a towel and begin to dry off. Quickly dressing myself in Beacon's uniform, I tie a bow over my ears. My scroll reads Seven fifteen. Fantastic, I'm just on time. I push through the door to the room and am confronted with Yang, heavily inebriated by sleep. She bumps into me and mumbles an apology before closing the bathroom door. Hearing the shower, I walk to my bed and sit down brushing the water out of my hair.

Oh my partner. I think fondly. My mind wanders back to previous evening as I run the brush through the shower spawned tangles in my hair. Shortly afterwards Yang emerges from the bathroom, her golden hair completely dry and her hands on her hips, smiling happily as though she had no other cares in the world. She prances over to my bed and throws herself down, launching me forward across the room. Tucking and rolling, I get to my feet shakily, sleep still affecting me. I turn to Yang and take a step forward, looking at her accusingly.

"It must be nice to have a flame based aura, Yang." I say, my own hair still slightly damp from the shower. No matter though, It has a nice waviness to it when it air dries.

"You bet it is! In fact you could say that I'm always warmed up," She replies and makes guns with her hands, pointing them at me with a wink.

I roll my eyes and walk over to Weiss. It's too early for Yang's puns. Not that I'm complaining of course. It's one of the reasons that I like her. There's never a dull moment within team RWBY. Placing my hand on Weiss' shoulder, I gently shake her awake.

"Morning Weiss," I greet her. The heiress grumbles a response and covers her eyes with her arm. I smile at her and chuckle. She'll get up; she knows the routine by now. "It's about seven thirty so Yang and I are going to head down to the caf. Wake up Ruby when you're done in the bathroom," Weiss responds with more grumbles but swings her legs over the bed and stretches, covering her mouth to hide a yawn.

I walk to the door and hold it open looking over to Yang. She hops to her feet and cheerfully struts out of the room. Turning back to me she bows playfully and I grin shutting the door quietly behind myself.

The hallways are markedly quiet for seven thirty on a school day morning but I'm not one to complain about silence. I match my pace to Yang's and look up at her despite only being a few inches shorter. She looks down at me quizzically and flashes that confident, self-assured smile that she so constantly wears. It seems like she's always smiling.

"So, Yang. . . "I trail off, trying to find a delicate way of bringing up last night without hitting any nerves that may be exposed.

"You want to know why I was up last night, right Blake?" She responds, that smile solid and unmoving from her face.

Shocked I try opening my mouth to protest but she presses her fingers to my lips, effectively silencing me. How could she know what I was going to say?

"You tend to telegraph your thoughts Blake. After I heard you sigh last night, I knew you would bring this up at some point during the day."

Confound my hesitance.

"Well what was it?" I ask bluntly seeing that there are no nerves to strike with her.

Yang is silent for a short while as we walk down the stairs outside the caf. "It's just that. . . I'm, well I don't know. I'm worried I guess." she says uncertainly as her smile slowly begins to fade. A pity, I truly enjoy seeing her smile. We arrive in the caf and walk towards the buffet.

"Oh?" I ask nonchalantly as we grab trays from the dispensers conveniently located all over the place. She doesn't acknowledge my question so I grab an apple off of a spinning platter and place it onto my plate. We shuffle along quietly. Yang spoons a helping of scrambled eggs onto my plate as well as her own and we both find a place to sit down. We eat in silence and I'm about halfway through my apple when I look up at her again. She's still not smiling. Her brow furrows and she looks down, keeping her eyes averted from mine. I sense that there's something that she hasn't said yet. I look down at my scroll and see that the time is seven fifty.

"Yang if you have something to say, you should say it. Ruby and Weiss will be down here at any second,"

In response to my words, Yang gets up and grabs my arm, pulling me out of the cafeteria. She drags me towards professor Port's classroom and sits in one of the pews towards the end of the classroom.

"It's no secret that I'm not doing well in my classes, Blake." Yang begins seriously, looking into my amber eyes with her own violet ones. "Goodwitch, she said that if I don't get my act together, she'll fail me out of Beacon. That would break Ruby's heart and I can't let that happen. Speaking of Ruby, please don't tell her any of this." she says taking my hands in her own.

"Yang!" I scold jerking my hands away. I immediately realize that if Yang failed out, I would be left without a partner. I just couldn't have that. "When did you find this out?"

"Last week," she responds, shrugging apologetically.

Unbelievable.

"Yang, how irresponsible could you be? You know you're putting the entire team in jeopardy right? I can't believe you!" I shout angrily, disrupting the quiet atmosphere of the classroom.

Yang puts her arms up defensively as though to shield herself from my onslaught of words and smiles crookedly. I scoff and shake my head, my eyes narrowing threateningly at her. Doesn't she know that we . . . that _I_ need her? I definitely wouldn't have gotten through all the craziness with Torchwick and the White Fang last year and I don't see myself being able to go forward without her either.

"What are you smiling at?" I growl aggressively towards her, anger building up within me. Why isn't she taking this more seriously?

"I spoke to Professor Port when I found out. I know he has a thing for me so I turned on the charm and told him about my problem. With a few bats of my eyelashes, he gave me some leeway. All I need to do is pass this test and he'll give me a C on the exam." She said, the triumphant smile returning to her face.

I take a few breaths to calm myself down and look at Yang directly. "Why are you worried then?" I ask her calmly. As upset as I am, I can't afford to lose my composure right before the exam everything that I know would fly out the window as my teammates take precedent in my mind.

"This is why, silly," Yang responds. Smiling, she boops me on my nose. I recoil involuntarily at the action, my eyes blurring out of focus for a second. "I didn't want you to worry about me but I felt that you had a right to know as my partner."

I frown at her mellowness causing her smile to widen. "I'm not worried about school because I know that my partner will do anything to make sure that I won't fail out." She said matter of factly engulfing me in a massive bear hug, the heat of her aura providing me with some warmth. She wasn't kidding about always being warmed up.

I realize that she had just asked me to help her out in a sideways manner giving me no way to refuse. Not that I would of course. She's right. I would do anything to make sure that she stays with us. "You better believe it," I growl as the bell rings, signaling the beginning of class.

Yang releases me and smiles, rolling her head in anticipation for the exam. Just in the nick of time, Weiss appears beside me with a resisting Ruby in tow, a mostly eaten bowl of strawberries in her hand. "No Weiss. Please! One more strawberry!" The younger girl exclaims as Weiss rips the bowl out of her hands and tosses it into the trash.

I roll my eyes at them and focus at the board in the front of the room. As Professor Port writes the time, he hollers his pre-exam disclaimers denying us usage of our scrolls during the exam.

Thirty minutes later, I'm stuck on the final question of the exam. _A nevermore engages you in a mountainous pass, what fighting style and strategy would be most effective in dispatching it?_ Hm. This is straight from one of Professor Port's lectures, I'm sure of it. Hearing a sigh of exasperation, I look over at Yang and watch as she idly pulls her free hand through her blonde mane while clicking her pen distractedly. Then, suddenly she begins to write with the fury of one thousand storms. Moments afterwards she jumps up to her feet, her skirt fluttering with the sudden movement.

"Professor Port I'm finished with the exam!" Yang declares with pride as she jogs up towards the Professor's desk. I can't help but smile at the show of confidence, it's one of the reasons that team RWBY works as well as it does. No matter what situation we find ourselves in, we can count on Yang to find the best of it and then subsequently beat that situation to a bloody pulp.

I quickly scrawl out an answer that I find acceptable and take my paper, walking up to the front of the room where Yang and Professor Port stand.

"Oho! This is quite an astute and might I say bold strategy Miss Xiao Long." Professor Port says with a hearty chuckle. It seems that he's grading Yang's exam in front of her. As stressful as that may be, it's probably better than her waiting nervously for a week. I don't think I could take that many restless nights in a row.

"You know me sir; I always like to be sharp." She replies with her hands on her hips, a lazy smile upon her face. Somehow, Yang makes arrogance seem admirable and I've come to love it over time. There's a time and place for it and by my calculations. This isn't the time.

Unphased, Professor Port finishes grading the test and looks at Yang happily "It seems that your edge may have paid off. Along with the points from the other sections, you have just enough points to pass this exam. Congratulations!" Professor Port says, slapping Yang on the back. Her eyes light up vibrantly and she leaps into the air punching it with joy. She then follows up by hugging everyone in the immediate vicinity. I chuckle lightly. I may be used to Yang's antics but not everyone else is. She runs out of the classroom like a tornado hooting exuberantly as she does. I turn in my exam and quickly but quietly follow her, my feet barely making any sound as I walk through the hallways. I turn the corner and bound up the stairs towards our dorm. It's quiet, but that makes sense. Most of the first years are still taking the exam. I pull out my scroll and see that it's a quarter after ten. The test will be over in fifteen minutes or so.

I pull the door open and see Yang sitting on my bed, sullenly holding her head in her hands. The sight is a complete contrast with what I just witnessed. Without hesitation, I sit down next to her and put a reassuring hand on her leg.

"Yang what's wrong? Professor Port passed you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

She doesn't look at me; she doesn't look at anything but stares straight ahead, blankly focusing. I clear my throat and wrench her attention out of whatever thoughts plague her.

"Huh? Oh. Of course it is, Blake. It's just that I have other classes and I'm not satisfied with just passing." She says looking straight into me, her violet eyes screaming for help. Understanding what she means, I nod and smile knowingly at her. Of course Yang's too proud to explicitly ask me for help. Luckily for her, I feel an obligation to help as her partner and friend.

"I meant what I said before, Yang. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you here," I say soothingly pulling her into a hug to show that I care. She hugs me back warmly and the glum look disappears from her face replacing itself with a soft smile. There it is. I think to myself as I disentangle myself from her grip.

"Now," I begin as I reach into my bag, pulling out Dr. Oobleck's book on the history of Remnant. Yang wants to do well and with my help that's exactly what she's going to do. "Here, turn to chapter fifteen," I command, handing the book to her. She frowns at it but nonetheless flips it open. I smile to myself, this is a start but we sure have a lot more to do.

**I do not own any of the intellectual property written about above. All rights go to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum.**


	2. Chapter 2: Burning Bright

**Blake **

"Oh thank you, Blake! I couldn't have done it without you," Yang says, beaming as she walks beside me with a bounce in her step. In her hands, she holds her most recent spoil of war: a final exam with a large A at the top, courtesy of Dr. Oobleck. Thankfully, the last month of studying paid off.

"You're welcome Yang," I reply proudly as Weiss brushes past me briskly, running out of the classroom.

"Weiss! I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Ruby cries loudly as she disappears after her, leaving a trail of roses behind her. I look at Yang, raising my eyebrow but she's too focused on her exam to notice. These sisters are a real handful, but that doesn't mean they're not great company. Weiss will get over whatever just happened. She always does.

Eventually, Yang gets tired of her test and unceremoniously shoves it into her bag as we approach our dorm. From inside, I can hear a sharp reprimanding that can only be coming from one person. Yang kicks the door open revealing Ruby, her head downcast, being chewed out by Weiss.

"You insufferable little girl!" Weiss shouts, every motion of her body denoting stress. I wonder what's wrong. I mean besides Weiss being one of the most uptight girls in Remnant. I open my mouth to ask before being completely cut off by Yang.

"Get a room ladies. I mean a different room," She says, a smirk on her face as though she's congratulating herself for that. Weiss keeps on yelling, making no move to respond to Yang's remark. If there's one thing I learned in my past year at Beacon, it's not to get in the way of a rampaging Weiss. I quickly grab Gambol shroud out from under my bunk and look at Yang, speaking to her with my eyes. She understands my message and backs out of the room meekly.

"It was a good attempt to try to deflect her using humor, Yang," I say, patting her on the back as we walk down the hallway.

"Yikes, Weiss gets scary sometimes. You know I feel kind of bad for leaving Ruby in there," She replies as we walk out of the dorm building towards a certain grass grotto on campus that I often like to use to be alone and that team RWBY uses for sparring practice. As we approach it, we notice the sounds of war emanating from it.

"That doesn't sound good," Yang says as she rushes forward. The ring of metal on metal permeates the air as I follow her. Who could have found our spot? It's in a very inconvenient area of the school taking at least a ten minute walk to get here from the dorms. Hm.

Yang crouches down and pushes through the shrubbery obscuring the grotto allowing her to look within. Naturally, I want to see what's going on as well so I lean beside her and peek inside.

"Keep up, Jaune!" Pyrrha taunts, twirling her sword, around herself artfully. She's amazing, her fighting style combines grace as well as technique and it just shouts talent at every observer. I consider myself to be a great fighter but I don't think I could ever possibly match her level of skill. I chuckle to myself as I remember the huge food fight last year when I was thrown through a wall by Pyrrha's semblance. _That_ was a fun day.

"Wait, Pyrrha," Jaune says, looking around the grotto suspiciously. "I think I heard something,"

I suppose it's a good thing that we weren't intentionally spying on them. It is our spot anyhow. "Yang, maybe we should find somewhere else to practice," I whisper to her, attempting to stay as quiet as possible. Before she gets a chance to respond, a fingerless gloved hand reaches down and pulls her through the bush. Wow. Jaune has gotten strong since he began to take his training seriously.

"Hey! What's the big deal?" Yang asks, as though her own rights had just been seriously violated. I leap up and quickly take her side, saying nothing but observing the situation. This confrontation reminds me of a similar one that I found myself and Sun in last year. Maybe I should try to work on my stealth more.

"This is _private_ JNPR training ladies," Jaune says, his voice cracking on the last word. Noticing that Nora and Ren aren't present, I go on the verbal offensive.

"If it's JNPR training, then where are Nora and Ren?" I ask, a smooth edge to my voice. Yang looks at me and her eyes light up at my defiance. She nods in agreement and folds her arms over her chest.

"They're on a fancy date in the main city," Jaune replies, sheathing his sword. I don't understand the reasoning behind his weapon layout. If anything, it would just make it more difficult for him to respond in a high tension combat situation. He would have to unsheathe the sword, and then pull up the shield and given that much time, a professional criminal would have killed him. That would be an unfortunate way to die.

"How did you guys even find this place?" Yang asks pointedly. She has a point; only after nearly half a year did team RWBY even explore this area of Beacon. Not only that, but without that vivacious whirlwind of a little sister she has, I doubt that anyone would have found it so easily.

Jaune chuckles nervously in the way that he does when he's unsure of what to do. I look at Pyrrha who's been silent the whole time as she covers her face with her hand.

"There's no point in lying about it anymore, Jaune," she says, motioning at us with her free hand.

"I - I followed you guys here last week. I wanted to know where you guys all go off to during the week, I mean there's hardly enough time for a trip to Vale and back so . . ." he says, not even attempting to finish his sentence or justify his crime against team RWBY.

"Well this is _our_ spot," Yang says matter of factly. I nod in affirmation with her statement and she continues to speak. "That's why you're going to have to fight us if you want to use it," I immediately turn my head to look at the blonde. I just wanted to have a nice practice session with her, really fighting was the last thing I had on my mind. Not only that but she wants to fight Pyrrha Nikos. Has she gone insane? If I didn't know better, I would think that Yang had a death wish. I scoff in disbelief and turn my attention back to the pair in front of us. Jaune grins evasively attempting to back down. However, Pyrrha stands her ground with a confident smile upon her face. She wants to fight as well.

I swallow nervously. I'm tired from school and I'm not sure that I'll be able to fight to the best of my abilities, "What about our bullets?" Pyrrha asks, switching her sword to rifle mode.

"Pyrrha are you serious?" Jaune asks quietly. In response Pyrrha shoots a look at him that silences any protests that he might have voiced. "Jaune. We have just as much of a right to use this space as they do. Why should we back down?" she asks.

Pyrrha has a point, but knowing Yang and her stubborn nature, I doubt that I'm going to get out of this unscathed. Yang reaches into her bag and pulls out a small bag. Smiling she opens it and thrusts her hand inside, pulling out a handful of paintballs. I'm definitely not getting out of this unscathed and neither is my uniform. I'm suddenly glad that I already did my laundry this week.

Wordlessly Yang, Pyrrha and I fill our weapons with paintballs. "Are there any rules?" I ask casually, Yang keeps team RWBY's paintballs in her bag for a reason as I've learned countless times before. A few of my blouses still have stains in them. Not that I'm complaining, a little extra practice goes a long way.

"The last team standing wins." Yang replies bluntly, a confident smirk absolutely lighting up her face. Seeing her smile, I feel more confident about our chances. She reaches into her bag and pulls out three rubber blade covers, handing one to Jaune, Pyrrha and I. Like clockwork, we slide our blades into them and allow the rubber to contour itself to them, rendering them completely blunt and safe. Pyrrha looks up at us and smiles dryly.

"Good luck team RWBY," she says, sauntering to the other side of the grotto, followed by Jaune.

"We won't need it, Nikos," Yang says slightly overconfidently if you ask me. What am I going to do about her?

We all take our positions, eyeing each other up. Pyrrha was trained to be extremely observant, she probably knows everything about our fighting styles by now. We're going to have to be spontaneous here. Now it's no secret that Pyrrha is head over heels for Jaune so maybe we can use that to our advantage.

Yang readies Ember Celica, throwing her bag aside as I hold Gambol shroud at arms level, the covered blade still within its sheath. Pyrrha stares me down, holding her javelin above her shield, a cool confidence exuding from her. Jaune stands across from Yang, looking more than a little nervous. I would be worried too if I was staring down Yang in a fight. That girl is frightening when she's passionate about something. I'm wondering who will make the first move when a hole gets blasted into the floor where Yang once stood.

Of course.

Yang made the first move firing backwards to propel herself towards Jaune who raised his shield resolutely in response. Pyrrha rushes towards Yang leaving all attention diverted from me. Using this opportunity, I flank Jaune and spring up, ready to strike down on him when I feel my momentum shift entirely. I tumble and roll to a knee as I see Pyrrha with her arm outstretched. It seems that semblances are fair game. At least this confirms my previous theory. Pyrrha is fighting for two right now.

I disengage and use my semblance to run around them, creating an illusion of multiple copies of myself circling them. Yang vaults backwards and fires a few paintballs at Jaune and Pyrrha's feet, herding them to the center of my circle. They face outwards back to back. Perfect.

"Now!" I yell leaping forward towards Jaune, unsheathing Gambol shroud and swinging it downwards in a cruel arc. Yang shouts a battle cry and follows suit, firing paintballs into the soft parts between Jaune's armor. As I come down, my momentum shifts again - harder this time forcing me to shield my face from the ground as it rushes to meet me. my sheath is thrown and embedded into a nearby wall

Ouch. That one hurt. I think, getting to one knee. Yang looks over to me on the floor and the look that pervades her face gives me goose bumps. She slams her fists together and lights up - literally. Lunging forward, she throws punches at Jaune in a desperate flurry. I'm flattered as this seems to be for my sake. Painfully I get to my feet and throw myself at Pyrrha to divert attention from Yang. She deflects my attack coolly but breathes harder now. It looks like the fight is taking its toll on her.

"Pyrrha, we don't have to fight. You can always take Jaune and leave," I say, attempting to save what energy I have left. Unlike Yang, I don't have a semblance that makes me last longer in a fight. She responds by grunting, her sword flashes outwards nearly catching me in the ribs. I backflip out of harm's way and switch my weapon to pistol form. Pyrrha charges at me with her shield up as I fire, the paintballs harmlessly reflecting off of her shield.

Uh oh.

Pyrrha slams her shield into my upper chest sending me sprawling to the ground. There have to be grass stains all over me. Should I get up this time? No. I think it would be better if I didn't. I roll up into a sitting position and look up to Pyrrha who shrugs apologetically.

"I'm sorry," she says running back into the fray to help Jaune who's at the moment covered in paint. The two fight Yang, slashing and stabbing as the she deftly dodges their strikes, using her semblance to give her an edge. Pyrrha slashes horizontally at Yang who tumbles beneath the strike and fires downwards giving herself the momentum necessary to launch herself into Jaune's chin. He goes flying into the air and lands with a hard thud on the opposite end of the grotto.

"I'm ok," he says waving his hand in the air as his crumpled form lays on the ground. It looks like he won't be getting up. All that's left is Pyrrha. Yang surges towards her fueled by her own berserker's rage and jabs, shooting while she does for an added dose of pain. Unfortunately for her, Pyrrha is able to deflect every attack and returns with a cascade of strikes. Yang dodges and weaves for as long as she can but eventually makes a mistake. She's met with a powerful blow to her shoulder, spinning her around. Pyrrha capitalizes on her enemy's weakness and switches her weapon to a rifle, firing mercilessly at Yang's person.

Within seconds, Yang is soaked through with paint and falls back theatrically, lying on the floor in an act of surrender. Ever the good sport, Pyrrha reaches down and pulls Yang to her feet. I expect her to be angry, furious even as she hates to lose. However, to my surprise a huge smile finds her paint spattered face.

"That was a lot of fun!" She exclaims happily. Pyrrha smiles back and runs to pick Jaune up. It's times like these that show me the sense of camaraderie present at Beacon. Though initially at odds, we all stand united albeit battle scarred. "A deal is a deal Pyrrha, you can use the grotto whenever you want," she says. I'm glad that no paint got in her hair, I wouldn't have heard the end of it.

"I would say we earned it," Pyrrha replies, a victorious smirk ghosting across her normally collected face.

"Congratulations. Yang, I'm exhausted. Are you coming?" I ask, motioning towards the dorms with my head.

"Uh. Yeah, I'll be right with you. Pyrrha, Jaune, I hope you two have a _ball. _Get it, like a paintball!" she says, shooting her finger guns at them. I roll my eyes but smile to myself. What I need right now is a warm shower and a good book. I shiver in anticipation and rub my aching chest. Scratch that, I need a warm bath.

* * *

Night fell and all the way back to the dorms, I had to listen to Yang go on and on about that fight. How it should have been easy. How she would have had them if Pyrrha had not gotten the jump on her. How she could have played the fight out better. She really would not stop talking. Not that I'm complaining of course. A passionate Yang has become one of my favorite sights. Her eyes become a brilliantly beautiful shade of red that compliments her smile wonderfully. Eventually, her self-arguing turns to grumbling as we push open the door to the dorm. There, we are met with a sight that both confuses and astounds me. That is, Weiss hugging Ruby on her bed. Personally, I'm too tired to even say something about it but as always, that doesn't stop Yang.

"So, it looks like you two are starting to get along," she says loudly apparently startling Weiss who jumps to her feet, a faint blush appearing in her cheeks.

"Am I not allowed to comfort my partner?" She asks, pushing past Yang and stomping out of the room.

Ruby looks at us calmly and immediately uses her semblance, dashing past us and outside, presumably to go after Weiss. I wonder what that was all about.

"I wonder what that was all about," Yang says, a confused look on her face as she echoes my thoughts. "Hey Blake, can I use the shower first?" She asks me, raising her arms to show me her paint encrusted uniform.

"Sure," I say, grinning at the humorous sight before me. It'll give me a little bit of time to start reading. Yang enters the bathroom with a towel and I hear the sounds of rustling clothes before hearing the shower go off. I pick up a random book off of my book case and begin to read it, sitting down on my bed. It's a historical fiction depicting the life of the first Humans to settle into what is now Vale and recounts their problems in different romantic situations. Within minutes, I'm whisked into this collection of temporal liaisons and am entranced by the enchantments of the author.

The romance is just starting to get heavy when Yang saunters into the room, wearing naught but an embarrassed smile and a towel that barely covers her voluptuous figure. This doesn't really bother me as I've seen Yang naked before, all of team RWBY has. That in and of itself warrants no explanation.

"Uh, Blake?" She asks nervously.

"Yes Yang?" I reply, looking straight into her eyes and mimicking her tone of voice.

She leans in until her face is inches away from my own. "Can I borrow some clothes? All of mine are dirty," she explains.

I laugh out loud uncharacteristically and smile at her. "No problem," I reply pointing to the closet that we share. She grabs a pair of my white shorts and a black top and wears them. They look good on her, but not as good as they look on me.

She throws herself next to me and lays down, stretching her sore muscles. As soon as she does, Ruby enters the room with a much more calm looking Weiss following her. Weiss changes into her nightgown quickly and lays down wordlessly in her bunk. I wonder how Ruby calmed her down.

"Should I ask?" Ruby asks pointing at Yang.

"We got into a fight with Jaune and Pyrrha. Yang didn't have any extra clothes." I respond, putting my book on the floor and walking to the bathroom. Ruby nods, completely unsurprised by this. She changes into her Pajamas and settles into bed.

"Goodnight team RWBY," she says quietly before pulling the covers over herself. "Blake, could you get the lights please?" she asks, her sleeping mask covering her eyes. I oblige her by fulfilling her request. As I step into the bathroom, I look back on my team. As dysfunctional as it sometimes might be, I love them dearly. Snores begin to emanate from Yang. I suppose I'm sleeping in her bunk tonight. I think to myself, rolling my eyes.

Oh my partner.

**All characters and intellectual properties written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth as well as the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	3. Chapter 3: Warming Up

**Weiss **

"StudentsintheremainingminutesofclassIshalldistributeyourgradedfinalexams," Dr. Oobleck says, running around in that caffeinated fervor that he always seems to be afflicted with. Ruby sits beside me, quietly drawing in her notebook with an oversized feather. For some reason she decided that it would be a good idea to buy a quill and inkpot. Dr. Oobleck comes to our row next and passes our tests down in a line. I take mine and smirk at the large, red A at the top of the paper, expecting no less than the best. I try to give Ruby her test; however she's too caught up in her doodling to notice.

"Ruby," I say nudging her with her exam. Somehow she doesn't seem to notice. "Ruby," I say much louder. To my great misfortune, this seems to shake her out of her daze. She flails her arms in astonishment and knocks the inkpot over.

I sit in shock as the ink splashes everywhere utterly destroying her notebook - and more importantly, my uniform. I should have a hard time comprehending what just happened, yet I don't as Ruby is involved.

"Weiss, I'm sorry that was an accident," Ruby says frantically as she roots through her backpack. I should have seen this coming. I just don't understand how someone so dependable in a fight could be so clumsy off of the battlefield.

"Ruby. Just don't," I say, getting up gingerly to make sure that the ink doesn't spread farther than it already has. I quickly stride out of the classroom, pushing past Blake and Yang. I make a mental note to apologize for my lack of courtesy later. Fortunately for me, I don't look like a complete dolt as the uniform's plaid design hides most of the ink stain.

As I walk towards the dorms, Ruby yells in my direction in an attempt to placate me. I ignore her. All that I need to do right now is make it to our dorm and get out of these soiled clothes before somebody notices. Luckily, I manage to get there and am in the process of stripping down to my underclothes when Ruby barges into the room.

"Would it kill you to knock?" I ask irritably. She doesn't respond as I pull my skirt over my head and put on my bolero, patting it all down to make it presentable. That girl really knows how to try my temper.

"Weiss, I'm so sorry," Ruby gasps, panting exhaustedly as a result of her chasing me all the way from the classroom. She walks over to my bunk and sits down, trying to catch her breath.

"How dare you come in here and think an apology will make this all better. Do you realize how difficult it is to get ink stains out of these?" I reply dismissively. Ugh, she's so childish. If she hadn't brought those anachronistic implements to class, this never would have happened.

"They're just clothes, Weiss." She remarks quietly, looking straight into the ground.

"You insufferable little girl!" I yell, anger fully consuming me. "Just clothes? Don't you know anything at all?" Ruby looks up at me, a hurt look on her face and I know that I've overstepped my bounds. I walk to the window and throw it open, resting my hands on the sill. I take a few deep long breaths of fresh air to calm myself down and look back at Ruby who idly presses her forefingers together out of habit.

"I can't believe Yang and Blake just abandoned me," she mutters to herself quietly, I can see pain in her eyes and I don't feel as though I'm the root of it. I shake my head softly and sigh, before walking back to my bunk.

Sitting down on her right, I scold myself internally. I'm her partner and I really need to become better at being one. She turns her head and blinks at me inhospitably "Ruby?" I ask gently, my face softening as I begin to speak.

"What?" she replies roughly, tears welling up in her beautiful smoke colored eyes. I pick through my lexicon for a way to word this delicately. I once made her a promise that I would be the best teammate she ever had and I will uphold it.

"I'm sorry for blowing up at you," I say, awkwardly placing my hand on her lap. Of all the things I could have said, I chose that? Weiss you dunce, I think to myself. My hand seems to make Ruby uncomfortable as she scoots over slightly, looking at me warily. She's taking this awfully hard. How is this time different from any of the other times I lost my temper? Concentrate, Weiss. "Ruby, would you like to maybe get a coffee . . . with me?" I ask hesitantly. I don't want to cause more damage than I already have. Her face contorts into a look of bewilderment that speaks volumes to me. If she doesn't want to, then I won't press. I get up, feeling somewhat defeated and begin to walk away when I feel her hand grasp mine delicately.

"I would love to, Weiss," She says, smiling sadly as she wipes the tears out of her eyes. I have to get her to open up to me. She needs to know that I'm an option if she ever needs someone for anything. Nearly a year and a half and I'm not as close to her as Yang is to Blake, or Jaune is to Pyrrha. Is that my fault? Regardless, I have my mission and I will complete it.

* * *

Normally, a trip to the city of Vale is one that team RWBY makes solely on the weekends, but I'm willing to make an exception for her, especially now in her time of need. The coffee shop that we visit is one that I've been to many times before as my father used to drag Winter and I to Vale during his many frequent business trips. I let Ruby choose where we will sit and she picks a table in the corner of the place, far away from prying ears and eyes. Good choice, I think to myself as we make our approach.

Ruby drops herself into a wooden seat unceremoniously and I follow suit, sitting daintily opposite her with my legs crossed. A lone candle illuminates our table, providing a rather romantic ambiance. We aren't seated for long before our waiter came around. I nod to the man courteously and order a simple espresso. I want to be sharp and focused right now. Ruby, on the other hand orders an extra sweet latte . . . with extra sugar. I can't help myself from smiling at her predictability, she's such a child. That isn't always a bad thing though. Because of that, Team RWBY ends up having fun no matter what we do. My mind immediately drifts to the massive food war that we had last year. As the waiter walks away, I tap his arm and whisper a special request into his ear. He looks at me understandingly and nods his head once before rapidly walking away to fulfill his duty.

"I've never been here before," Ruby says quietly, looking around the cafe and all the while smiling warmly. I never noticed it before, but her smile draws attention to the twinkle in her eyes. They still show such youthful innocence, even after all that we've been through. I nod in response to her statement, not saying anything so as not to mess this up.

"Ruby, I realize that I can sometimes be very . . . harsh," I finally say, placing my hands on the table. My words elicit a sudden snicker from Ruby that I choose to ignore. This is more difficult than I thought it would be. "But I want you to know that I am always here if you need somebody to talk to," She looks at me cordially but doesn't respond otherwise. I hope that was sufficient. I hope that I can make up for lost time. I hope - my thoughts are cut off as the waiter returns with our drinks. He places them on the table carefully before another waiter brings out a pastry plate that is completely laden with pink macaroons.

"On the house, Miss Schnee, for you and your friend. Enjoy," He says before quickly leaving Ruby and I alone again. Her mouth drops as she stares at the tower of cookies, causing me to smile in spite of myself. She has this sense of pure wonder to her happiness that I find kind of endearing. Looking at me, Ruby grins ear to ear and I suddenly feel warm and fuzzy inside. Actually, I find it very endearing.

"Weiss! Did you do this?" She asks me excitedly, disbelief present all over her face. She immediately takes a cookie and puts it on her tongue, closing her eyes as she lets the flavors embark her on a journey to a literally sweet oblivion. "Strawberry. So good," she says, unable to form a full sentence. I take a large gulp of my coffee and place a single macaroon on the tea plate that I was provided.

We enjoy our snacks quietly but a gentle pressure coaxes me to say something to her. "I know I'm not the most open, Ruby" I begin, exhaling nervously. Making myself more hospitable to her is going to be difficult. That won't stop me; she deserves a partner that she can be cohesive with. A partner that she can truly depend on. "That being said, I . . . I'm sor-,"

"It's alright," Ruby says, cutting me off abruptly. "Weiss, I would forgive you for anything," she reaches across the table with her left hand and grasps my own, softly rubbing her calloused thumbs against my palm. It's an oddly soothing motion that relieves me of some of the weight that had been bearing down upon my shoulders. I smile at her gratefully and, after a while, pull my hands away. Ruby devours the rest of the macaroons right off of the pastry plate and gulps down the last of her sweet, cavity inducing concoction. What a lucky girl, she doesn't have to deny herself anything and is still able to maintain her body. Curse my inferior metabolism.

We enjoy the atmosphere of the coffee shop for a short while longer before Ruby and I leave. I paid for both drinks of course, as well as the macaroons, making sure to tip our waiter as well. Nobody owes me a thing because of my name.

* * *

By the time we make it back to beacon, it's nearly dark. Ruby was uncharacteristically quiet the whole way back. We enter the dorm wordlessly and look around. Yang and Blake aren't back from wherever they went. I suppose Ruby and I will have privacy for a short while more. She hasn't said a word to me in a while and I'm not sure what the situation is like between the two of us at this moment.

Ruby sits down on my bunk and pats the bed next to her. I hesitate slightly but sit down beside her all the same. She smiles and spontaneously hugs me very fiercely. I wish I could get into this girl's head, if only to understand her thoughts. I think I know her and then she does something that catches me completely off guard. I suppose she isn't as predictable as I thought. I wrap my arms around her, awkwardly at best and lean my head against her right shoulder. I haven't exactly hugged many people in my life, so this is entirely foreign to me.

She just holds me for a while, the heat emanating off of her body warming me comfortably when all of a sudden, a loud voice cuts through the cozy mood of the room. "So, it looks like you two are starting to get along," Yang. That pompous brute, how dare she interrupt my moment.

"Am I not allowed to comfort my partner?" I ask, feeling heat rising to my cheeks. I stomp past her and out of the room, walking towards the courtyard. It was getting too warm in there anyway, I need some air. Before I can make it halfway down the hallway, I feel a hand gently grip my forearm. I spin around, ready for a confrontation and find myself face to face with Ruby. She shrugs apologetically and wraps her arms around my neck.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I am always here if you need somebody to talk to," she says, echoing my words from earlier in the day as she pulls away from the abrupt embrace. There she goes again, catching me off guard by doing something entirely unexpected. I don't know what to say and open my mouth trying to form words but before I can, Ruby presses her index finger to her lips and begins to walk back to our dorm. With nothing else to do, I follow her.

Once inside, I see no reason to prolong the day. It was very emotionally taxing and I'll need my strength if I'm going to be the best partner ever. I quickly change into my nightgown and lay down on my left side in my bunk, pulling the blanket over my shoulder. I yawn sleepily, already feeling much closer to Ruby. It's a wonderful start but that's all it is, a start. If I have my way, we'll be the closest partners yet.

I just know it.

**All characters and intellectual property written about above belongs to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	4. Chapter 4: Warming Up Part Two

**Weiss **

Finally, sweet release. I think to myself, sighing happily as I leave Professor Goodwitch's classroom for the last time of this semester. As to be expected, I received an A mark in her class. It wasn't terribly difficult at all, as Professor Goodwitch's final exam was completely combat based. I knew that I could depend on my team and of course, they didn't prove me wrong. We worked together flawlessly, not that we could have done anything less, and reaped the rewards.

As I walk back to the dorm I tally up my grades in my head. Professor Goodwitch: A, Professor Peach: A, Professor Port: A, Dr. Oobleck: A. Perfection. This calls for a celebration. I know, I'll treat team RWBY to dinner. Excitedly, I open the door to our dorm and come to a sudden halt finding Ruby, Yang, and Blake engaged in a very odd manner of behavior.

"I told you that this would work better outside!" Yang yells as Blake strains to keep her left arm between her leg and her right arm over Ruby's left shoulder. Ruby crouches on one leg quietly, her face blanketed with concentration. Every now and then I hear little peeps coming out of her as she tries to keep her balance. I'm too stunned to even ask what's going on and stand in astonishment of what is transpiring before me. However, at this point, I'm not surprised.

I shut the door behind myself and sit down on my bunk, watching in wonder as my team members attempt to do whatever it is they're trying to do.

"I'm going for it!" Yang announces as she vaults forward with her hands outstretched towards Blake and Ruby. She's going to hurt herself. What an awful idea, I think to myself as I place my hand over my mouth. To my disbelief, she sticks the landing and manages to hold a handstand on their backs.

"We . . . did . . . it," Yang says slowly through gritted teeth. What in the world are they doing? It seems like they were trying to recreate some sort of human sculpture.

"And _what_ exactly did you do?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips. Apparently they hadn't heard me enter the room because Yang jumps, startled and falls out of her handstand. As she does she kicks Ruby right in the jaw, landing on top of Blake and all but flattening her.

My combat instincts kick in almost immediately and I run to Ruby's side. I help her to a sitting position, leaning her up against my chest. Her eyes are closed. "Ruby, are you alright?" I ask as I tenderly rub her injured cheek. She responds with an unintelligible groan. Thankfully, her jaw isn't broken. That's a relief; broken jaws take an incredibly long time to heal.

"Yang, would you mind getting off," Blake says, muffled underneath Yang's mass of golden hair. She forcefully rolls the blonde off of her and sits up, gasping for breath. Looking at Yang, she shoots daggers with her eyes. Yang laughs groundlessly and sits up, a smile plastered across her face.

"I do whenever I can, Blake," she says with a wink, completely oblivious to her indisposed sister. For a woman who supposedly cared for Ruby all of her life, she does a terrible job of it.

"Yang, here's a thought. Maybe you could help your poor sister," I say sardonically. "It's no big deal really," I stare a challenge into her eyes and carefully place Ruby's head on my lap.

"Ruby? Oh no!" she screams rushing to her aid. How heroic. No matter, I help Yang carry our injured leader to my bed and lay her down upon it. As I gently place her head against my pillow, her eyes flutter open. She tries to speak but I touch my forefinger to my lip.

"Don't speak," I command as I sit down beside her. It was initially a chore to get to know her but in the past two weeks that we've been spending time together; I've come to genuinely care about the girl. My battlefield instincts have also started to transition slightly as I've found myself to be quite protective of her. It's nice to know that I have a friend in her.

"Weiss," She moans, completely ignoring my command. I roll my eyes but indulge her,

"Yes?" I respond. I couldn't control her if I wanted to. Yang and Blake stand over the bed, looking at our fallen leader grimly. I take note and hope that this doesn't foreshadow anything for us.

"Ice . . . "she says, moaning as she clutches her jaw in pain. Yang perks up at the request, wanting to make amends for her assault. She rushes out of the room with Blake in tow.

"Ice cream," Ruby says causing me to smile in spite of myself. What. A. Child.

"I'll get it," I say consigning myself to the task. As I get up to go, Ruby's hand shoots up and grasps my arm.

"No, stay," she says painfully. Ever finicky, our leader is. In a way, that reminds me of myself. Perhaps that's why I feel so protective of her. That youthful naiveté that she exhibits was also once so prominent within myself. "Weiss, would you mind lying down next to me," she asks meekly. A month ago I wouldn't have even considered doing such a thing but now, I feel somewhat obligated to.

I awkwardly maneuver my body into the space that Ruby provided me with which was not much. Fortunately, I'm not very large so I squeeze in between her frame and the wall quite easily. Ruby wraps her arms around me in a hug and smiles, looking straight into my eyes. I'm not bothered by this. Frankly, I've become accustomed to her hugs and well, they're fairly enjoyable. A dark bruise is beginning to form along her jawline. I think back to Professor Goodwitch's class when I suddenly have an idea.

"Ruby, I think I may be able to fix your face," I say, instantly scolding myself for the choice of words. I try to correct myself as she feigns a hurt look, evidently enjoying my flustered appearance. "I mean, I think I can heal you," I cup her cheek, causing her to giggle nervously, blushing softly all the while.

"What are you going to do, kiss me?" she asks before groaning in pain again. She talks too much. I roll my eyes at her and slow my breathing, by doing so while looking into her eyes I am able to synchronize our heart rates. Perfect. I activate my aura and touch Ruby with it, feeling the power intertwine between the two of us. Soon I feel her aura on the fringes of my own and pull it back. Her aura fills the spaces that mine left without delay and I see the bruise on her cheek begin to fade. In seconds, it goes from livid to that normally cream colored complexion that she has. I sigh exhaustedly and relax in her arms. Professor Goodwitch wasn't kidding. This really does take a lot out of you. At least she's warm, I think to myself as I look into her eyes.

She smiles at me gratefully and squeezes tightly, forcing the breath out of my lungs. "Thank you," she says, the look in her smoky eyes conveying more than she physically said. What else could she be thanking me for? That's a question for another day. I try to get up as quickly as possible to avoid a scene with Blake and Yang but slip and fall on top of Ruby, straddling her hips with my legs and, lo and behold Yang and Blake manage to return at precisely that moment.

"Whoa," Yang exclaims, shielding her eyes "Should we come back?" She asks, dropping a large bag of ice on the floor with a roguish smirk. I scramble off of Ruby and land on the floor, patting myself off. Blake stands next to Yang quietly, her face a quiet mask of amusement. I'm glad that they're getting such entertainment out of me, I think as heat rises to my face. Ruby swings her legs over the side of the bed and rubs her jaw.

"Yang, you kicked me," she says, a look of playful betrayal upon her face. Her bruise is completely healed though, so why bring that up? Oh. I realize that she said that to take the, quite literal, heat off of me. I'm very thankful for her sometimes.

"I'm so sorry, baby sister," Yang says, dropping to her knees in a dramatic show of remorse. Blake kicks the bag of ice to Yang who catches it without looking. The two of them have gotten very cohesive lately. That's good, if anything it'll make our team run much more smoothly. Yang holds the bag of ice above her head like a divine offering of sorts and clears her throat. "I present ice to you, Oh glorious leader," she says, bowing her head. This is quite a comical situation playing out in front of me.

"I accept your offering, dear sister," Ruby replies pulling Yang to her feet. She takes the ice, placing it on my bed and pulls Yang into a sisterly embrace. "I forgive you," she says cheerfully.

Of course she forgives her; it's that type of camaraderie and love that solidifies our team. Then again, she probably won't let Yang forget this anytime soon.

I know I won't.

**All characters and intellectual properties written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	5. Chapter 5: Making Leaps

**Blake **

The suns harsh rays reflect off of the snow that blankets the clearing. White light leaps off of it into my sensitive eyes causing them to dilate painfully. Normally, my Faunus heritage would give me an edge, but in this terrain I may as well be blind. My ears twitch at a sudden noise in the distance, it sounds like gunfire. Crouching low, I slink along the edge of the clearing making as little noise as possible. I'm making good progress, moving through the forest with ease when a hand grabs my shoulder from above. Startled, I pull Gambol Shroud from its sheath and swing around, vertically striking with it.

"Whoa, Blake. It's me," Yang says, leaping out of the tree she was perched in. She hits the ground and rolls to her feet, casually patting snow off of herself as she does. I frown at her and walk to the tree, wrenching my weapon out of a branch.

"Yang, by now you ought to know not to sneak up on me," I scold, inspecting my weapon for any damage. Satisfied that I hadn't bent the blade, I sheath it and turn to face her. My eyes have trouble adjusting to the bright light making Yang look like an angel, her golden hair illuminated with a blinding halo "What did you find?" I ask, my voice deafening in comparison to the now hushed forest.

Looking around cautiously, she motions to a nearby tree and we take cover beneath it. After breaking a branch off of it, she draws a diagram in the snow. The area that she scouted lies near and around a river by the look of it. "Ok," she exhales, whispering close to my face; a puff of her warm breath tickling my skin. "I saw an enemy group camped out here" she says scratching a circle into the snow. "We're here," she draws a star at the north side of the river, placing the enemies in the south. "The gunfire that you probably heard earlier came from here, but that could just be bait," she points to an area due east of the enemies' position. Strategically, it would make the most sense to attack the group due south first but that would mean one thing.

We need to cross the river. Fantastic. Oh how I love the water.

"You know what that means. Right kitty cat?" She says, a roguish grin planting itself upon her face. I glare at her; she knows that I don't like being called that. _Torchwick_ called me that to degrade me. I don't need to be reminded that I'm different; that I'm a Faunus. Then again, Yang couldn't know that. She's playful by nature and I love that about her. Usually, she knows just what to say to make me laugh but this was just distasteful. Seeing the look on my face, her smile fades to a neutral expression. "I'm sorry Blake," she says flatly. I can't fault her for that; she always tries to make a situation seem better with humor.

"Don't worry about it, Yang," I say, smiling as warmly as I can on this frigid winter day. We move quickly and quietly through the forest until we reach the north side of the river. On the opposite side there's a huge thicket of overgrown trees. Perfect. They'll obscure any movements that we make and I'm willing to bet that they'll be able to provide us with decent cover. Maybe we'll even be able to flank our enemies. Before that, though, an obstacle lays before me.

"Hey, just don't think about it and swim right through," Yang offers, trudging unwillingly into the water. Eventually, it reaches her neck and she begins to swim. With a few powerful strokes, she makes it to the other side of the river. After looking around to make sure that we're not being watched, she gives me two thumbs up, shivering all the while. Why doesn't she use her aura to warm herself up? It bothers me but I don't want to yell my suggestion to her to mitigate our chances of detection so I take the only course of action available.

There's no reason to draw out this cruel torture. Immediately, I dive horizontally into the water. The sudden chill hits me like a brick wall and I involuntarily expel all the breath in my lungs, frantically splashing to the surface as I gasp for air. Gritting my teeth to keep them from chattering, I take Yang's suggestion and clumsily paddle straight through the river. Although I'm neither the best swimmer nor am I the most graceful, I manage to make it through the relatively unscathed.

As soon as I stand up, Yang pulls me into one of her signature bear hugs. I shudder as the cold fabric of her top skims my bare skin. It's too cold to resist so I stand there, trembling. She activates her aura, causing the snow around us to melt as her heat dries our soaking frames. Maybe she wanted to save her energy in case she was ambushed while I swam. Hm. In the past two years that we've been partners, I've learned that it's best to just ask, and ask I do. "Yang, why didn't you dry yourself before I crossed the river?" It took me at least three minutes to get across and it doesn't take very long for human body temperature to drop.

"I didn't want you to suffer alone," she says releasing me from her hug, with a sly smile on her face. That was a thoughtful gesture, albeit a stupid one. That woman is no use to our mission below top form. Regardless, I can't keep myself from smiling back at her.

A few minutes pass and by then, our clothes are completely dry. We've rested here for long enough, I motion with my hand for her to lead the way and she walks ahead of me, taking point. We walk into the trees and are engulfed by the dense foliage; the snow on the ground absorbs the sounds of our movement. Fortunately for me, sometime after we crossed the river, the sun hid behind a thick layer of clouds. Yang looks back at me and points in front of her, we're nearing our targets. I brush a branch out of the way and peer into the circular glade before us. There they are. I focus on the two figures that stand whispering in the middle of the clearing. Eventually, I can make out what they're saying.

"What do you mean you didn't sweep the perimeter, what have you been doing then?" Weiss snaps, placing her hands on her hips. "You're unbelievable," Ruby looks down at the ground and kicks a rock idly. It looks like she's blushing. They aren't a completely cohesive unit yet. It looks like Yang and I have an advantage as well as the element of surprise. I let the branch go and it softly falls back to its position.

"Yang, go around to the other side and get ready, we're going to strike on my mark" I whisper. Yang nods and disappears to my left soundlessly. That's surprising, she's gotten much better at stealth recently, especially considering the fact that she was able to sneak up on me earlier without alerting me. I count to sixty twice and unsheathe Gambol Shroud.

Here we go.

I leap out of cover into the air and spin, my weapon coming down on Ruby like a stone. She stares at me, but doesn't engage. Wait. Something's not right here. Using my semblance, I shift my momentum and leap backwards, landing on the ground. I attempt to stand but immediately slip and fall. They froze the ground.

"Yang, the floor!" I yell, getting to my feet shakily. The berserker leaps out of the trees with her hands above her head, yelling incoherently. Ruby capitalizes on her appearance and changes Crescent Rose into its sniper rifle mode. She shoots a barrage of paintballs at Yang who counters by firing Ember Celica as she falls, the force from her weapon keeping her suspended. Their projectiles impact midair and shatter, falling like snowflakes. Now uninterrupted, Yang drops to the ground and grunts loudly, slamming her gauntlets into the ice, causing it to steam and effectively disintegrating most of it.

The steam billows all around us obscuring my vision. When it finally clears, I see Ruby and Weiss standing back to back between Yang and I, this is highly reminiscent of the fight we had with Pyrrha and Jaune a couple of months ago. However, unlike then, we aren't fighting anyone with a polarity semblance. This one should be ours.

Yang makes the first move, propelling herself forward by shooting backwards. "Bumblebee!" I shout, eliciting a sharp sound of protest from Ruby. She thinks that she knows what's coming next; she came up with the name after all.

I throw Gambol Shroud at Yang, keeping it tethered to my wrist and she catches it expertly, using its energy to swiftly advance towards her targets.

Wasting no time, Weiss creates glyphs in a seemingly erratic pattern. But, I know Weiss and she's nothing if not meticulous. "The glyphs!" I yell. Before she can react to my words, Ruby fires her weapon into the ground; the glyph by her feet reacts and she is thrown into the other glyphs, swiftly lifting her into the air. Well. If I can't be proactive, I can at least be reactive. I think, swinging Yang upwards as she fires downwards, launching herself after Ruby. Hopefully, we can pull this move off. All that we need is for her to be back on the ground. I tug at the tether and pull my weapon back, firing it at Weiss as it travels.

Gracefully, she dodges and weaves causing my bullets to miss; all without breaking concentration on her glyphs. Without warning, Weiss goes on the offensive, using a haste glyph to increase her speed and lunge towards me. She strikes relentlessly with a flurry of jabs, forcing me to move back as I parry. I stay calm and collected, focusing on Myrtenaster's deadly point. I dash towards her and swing my blade outwards. Flipping backwards, she creates a glyph under my feet, and at the last possible instant, I roll backwards, changing Gambol shroud into its pistol form. The glyph explodes, creating a momentary smokescreen.

When It's clear, I Aim down my sight, noticing that Weiss wears a confident smirk on her face. I look down and don't see a glyph under my feet. I squeeze the trigger a few times forcing her to roll out of my way when I hear a yell of pain from above me.

Oh no.

I look up as Yang comes crashing down to earth, slamming me into the ground. Abruptly, the world goes black.

* * *

When I regain consciousness I see my teammates standing around me, worried looks cover their faces. Yang perks up slightly when she notices that I'm awake. "Ruby, Weiss!" She calls out, kneeling beside to me. I try to sit up but am hit with a sudden wave of vertigo. I fall back and lay with my eyes closed, hoping that it'll pass soon.

"What happened?" I finally ask as the nausea subsides. The last thing I remember was Weiss dodging my gunfire. Why am I covered in snow?

"Ruby got the best of Yang during their aerial skirmish and she fell . . . right on top of you," Weiss replies, looking as guilty as I've ever seen her before. She shouldn't be guilty; we all knew the risks of this type of training.

"Sorry, I guess you could say that I . . . fell for you," Yang says, a smile ghosts across her face before concern returns. Ruby, Weiss and I collectively groan, I swear that woman always has a pun for everything. I sit up and take a deep breath, shakily getting to my feet. As I do, snow falls off of my body, exposing a few livid bruises. However, the snow numbed them out so I can't feel them. I take another deep breath and focus my aura, causing it to slowly heal all of my wounds. It's an energy consuming process but it's the best medical care we can muster.

"I'll be alright," I say swaying slightly. We decide to rest in this clearing for a few minutes more before making our way back to the dorms. As we walk, the sun makes its descent and by the time we reach the campus, night falls.

* * *

Ruby pushes open the door, yawning. Weiss and Yang help me to my bed and lay me down gently when Ruby gasps in surprise. "I forgot my bottle of black dust in the forest," she says, using her semblance to sprint out of the room.

Weiss rolls her eyes, sighing and goes after her, "Ruby, wait for me," she says. We may call Weiss the ice queen, but she's actually quite the opposite on occasion. In the past few months, she's shown Ruby an incredible amount of compassion and perhaps even affection that I would have thought impossible for her had I not seen it myself.

Time passes and I feel helpless laying here and try to get up, much to the distress of my partner. "Blake are you alright?" she asks, biting her lip nervously. That's bizarre to say the least; I've never seen her do that before.

"Well, I feel a little cold," I respond curiously, hugging my arms around myself. Yang snaps her fingers and grabs my mug from the table that we use for work. She runs into our bathroom and I hear the sink run for a moment. She walks out with the cup and sits next to me, activating her aura. The heat radiating off of her would be enough to make me purr if I were more feral like some of my Faunus brothers and sisters. After a while, she stops generating heat and hands me the mug. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and sit up, grasping the mug from her.

"I knew this would come in handy," She says, reaching between her breasts and pulling out a little foil covered package. Tearing the foil aside, she removes a teabag and places it into my mug. After wordlessly sitting and allowing the tea to steep I take a sip and look at her, surprised. She beams at my reaction and leans back on my bed. This is my favorite tea, how did she know? I take another greedy gulp and feel the heat of the tea begin to permeate my body, warming me to my core. I smile to myself; this is the second time today that Yang has kept me warm. "Blake, I'm sorry," she says suddenly, utterly destroying the cozy mood we were heading towards. Sorry? What does she have to be sorry for? I think, taking another sip with my eyes closed, savoring the bittersweet taste of this blend. "I'm sorry for calling you kitty cat, I'm sorry for hurting you today. I'm just sorry," she says, giving off an oddly troubling air.

I hoped she had forgotten about that unintentionally offensive quip. And the training incident wasn't her fault as much as it was my own. I walk across the room, energized by the tea and place the mug on our study table. I amble back to my bed and stop, standing in front of her "Yang. Where is this coming from?" I ask gently with a concerned look upon my face. She looks at me uncertainly. The last time she acted anywhere remotely like this was a few months ago before I began to help her study.

"You've been the greatest partner a girl could ask for, Blake," She begins, visibly struggling to speak. She looks up at my face but immediately averts her eyes, taking a deep breath. How out of character.

"Of course Yang, you're my best friend," I reply, smiling softly. I literally wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her. She's been there for me more times than I can count.

She sighs heavily and falls back onto my bed. "I'm not satisfied with that," What does she mean? Neither of us speaks for a short while and the silence that fills the void is deafening. Eventually, I can't take it any longer and speak.

"Yang what's wrong? Please talk to me. You can tell me anything," I say, folding my arms over my chest; refusing to back down until we resolve whatever's on her mind.

She stands up and looks down, towering over me although she's only a few inches taller. "Do you want to know what's wrong? Do you want to know why I'm so bothered?" she asks, her eyes turning red. The sudden change in her tone startles me. Red eyes mean passion, emotion and vulnerability in her. It resonates deep within myself and I nod with some difficulty; the weight of the tension in the room bearing down on me. "I want to be more than just your best friend," she says, almost whispering, her fiery eyes filled with longing. She drops down on my bed and sits there, staring up at me dispiritedly.

Oh.

I have trouble composing myself, trying to speak but faltering on my words. The sudden revelation sends my heart pounding. I'm nervous. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I walk to the window and throw it open, letting the icy air shake me out of my lethargy.

"Blake, you don't have to say anything. I just needed to get that off of my chest," she says. I turn to face her and see that her cheeks have turned a rare shade of pink. I don't think that I've seen her blush in all the time that we've been together. I figured that she had lost all shame long ago. Truth be told, I've never given much thought to dating a girl. I've only dated one boy, Sun, and that ended badly. On the other hand Yang has been my closest friend for nearly the last year or so. It's not like she isn't attractive, especially when she smiles and I suppose it would be unfair to shoot her down without at least giving her a chance. I wouldn't want anyone to confuse me for Weiss.

"Get up," I command her sternly, my body language seeming to betray my intention. She looks up, defeated, but all the same obeys my order, getting off of my bed. I walk towards her and stop, looking into her eyes. They've turned back to that brilliant shade of violet that they normally take and I smile up at her, relaxing my body. I wrap my arms around her tenderly and rest my head on her shoulder. Her body stiffens at my touch but soon softens; her arms snake their way around me and we hold each other for what seems like an eternity. She's the one to make the first move and pulls away, looking at me suspiciously.

"What's this supposed to mean?" she asks, holding me at arm's length, a frustrated furrow appearing in her brow. That's the exact reaction that I was going for.

"It means that I'm giving you a chance on the condition that we take this slowly," I say booping her on the nose. She recoils momentarily, allowing me to easily fold her back into a hug and this time she doesn't pull away.

We decide to keep our fledgling bond clandestine until we're comfortable enough to announce it. She doesn't say, but I can tell that she really doesn't want to announce us until she feels secure and safe with me; until I'm absolutely committed. Yang's not the type to settle and normally, I would feel the same way but after my "partnership" with Adam and my not so great relationship with Sun, I'm ready for a fresh start and I have a good feeling about this.

**All characters and intellectual property written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	6. Chapter 6: Taking Chances

**Yang **

I push the bathroom door open and slide out, revealing my outfit for the third time in the last ten minutes. "What about this one?" I ask Ruby, bouncing up and down restlessly. I've never been so nervous before. She looks up from her comic and eyes me up and down, her face brightening at the sight.

"That looks great," She says, jumping to her feet. I look down at myself, my outfit's not much. I just took my favorite brown jacket and wore it over a yellow tank top; the only thing that I really changed was my shorts. I decided to give black jeans a try, Jaune was right; they are pretty comfy.

"Are you sure?" I ask uncertainly; I want this to be perfect. I need this to be perfect.

"I think that Blake will love whatever you wear," she says encouragingly. That makes me feel a little bit better, but not by much. Sheesh, I'm nervous. I know Blake and I promised not to tell anybody about us until we were ready but I couldn't keep anything from my baby sister. My scrolls alarm goes off; it's six fifty, Blake asked me to meet her at seven. "Yang, don't worry. It'll be fine," Ruby says confidently, I smile at her, grateful for her support. I couldn't have asked for a better sister.

I really hope this works out, It would be really awkward if it didn't and I don't think I would be able to handle that, I think to myself as slide down the railing of the staircase. Soon, I make it outside and see a figure silhouetted against the statue in front of Beacon. The moon moves out from behind some clouds and throws light on her. I stop dead in my tracks, she looks incredible. Blake wears her trademark black bow with a knitted purple cardigan over a black skirt that hugs her body in all the right places. My heart starts to pound frantically.

Figures. I can handle a pack of Ursa. I can handle an Atlesian Paladin. I can handle an entire club _full_ of people who want nothing more than to kick my ass, but I can't handle a date. She seems to sense my worry and saunters towards me, taking my arm in hers. "Well don't you look lovely tonight," she says, the light of the moon sparkling in her eyes.

"As do you Miss Belladonna," I reply, nervously. We walk to the garage and talk about our days up until now. Predictably, she spent most of her time in the library today, reading in a quiet corner like she does. I tell her about my workout, how I nearly knocked my bunk over during some admittedly intense Burpees. Not once do I mention how nervous I was. It feels like no time passes at all and just like that, we're at the garage. I see my baby, Bumblebee parked in its spot and sigh in relief. I may not be comfortable with this whole date thing but I know a thing or two about my bike. I planned everything out, I even got Blake a cute black helmet with yellow stripes; or is it yellow with black stripes? That doesn't really matter. We saddle up and I put my helmet on, leaning forward. "Are you ready?" I ask her, anxiously. I really hope I don't crash.

"Hold on," she replies. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she holds her supple form against me. I can feel her chest pressing against my back.

That's going to be distracting.

* * *

A few minutes down the road to the city of Vale and I forget my anxiety; I forget my fear. It's just me and the road. For as long as I can remember, Bumblebee has been a way for me to relax and unwind. Soon, we reach the first block of the city; Blake loosens her grip on my waist. I guess she was worried, but that wasn't the first time she's ever been on my bike. She dismounts and pulls the helmet off, shaking her coal black hair out. The sight makes my heart throb painfully.

"So, where to?" Blake asks, her amber eyes glinting in the moonlight.

"You'll see, come on," I reply, grinning anxiously. She doesn't know it but she's in for a real treat; the restaurant that we're going to might have the best seafood in all of Remnant. I hold my hand out and she takes it in her own, smiling at me. I take a deep breath and we begin to walk, the sights and sounds of the city enveloping us. Oh how I love it. Thankfully, the night itself is clear; there's snow on the ground but it isn't windy. It's perfect. Eventually, we make it to "Seas to Meet You" and take shelter within. That pun in and of itself is actually one of the reasons that I love the place.

As soon as we get inside, we're met with a low roar; the main dining room is packed with people. Over in the back of the room, I see Jaune and Pyrrha; it looks like they had the same idea that I had. "Hi, welcome to Seas to meet you, do you have a reservation?" a Faunus hostess asks me. It's a good thing that Ruby made me do that this morning. That really could have set a bad tone for the evening. After giving her my name, the hostess escorts us to our table and leaves us with two menus. It's a nice location; right by a window with a beautiful view of the harbor. But, the beauty of the view doesn't even compare to the girl in front of me.

"This is the nicest place that I've ever been to," Blake says, observing everything in that way that she does. She has this intense focus when she comes to new places; her pupils narrow as she drinks in every detail.

"Yeah?" I respond, not trusting myself to speak. The way I see it, the less I speak, the less likely I am to ruin this date.

"Hey, Yang, you don't need to be nervous. It's just me," she says, taking my hand in hers from across the table. She gives me the most sincere smile, completely soothing my frayed nerves. It is just Blake, I've slept above her, I've fought alongside her and I shouldn't be nervous. After I tell myself that, everything gets a lot easier. I smile at her gratefully and pick up my menu. I decide to have a steak, rare of course and she decides on an order of smoked salmon. Our waitress arrives shortly afterwards with two glasses of water.

"Tell me something I don't know about you," Blake commands after we order, taking a sip of her water. Ooh, I like it when she gets feisty. I'm always one to please so I oblige her by answering her question.

"Well, for one thing this date is terrifying me," I respond lightheartedly, having gotten over my fears just a short while ago. She looks amused by my answer and raises an eyebrow at me inquisitively. "It's just that I've never seriously considered a relationship. You know that I've always just rolled with whatever life has thrown at me and I guess I never saw myself ending up here. I honestly don't know what's going to happen but I know that I don't want to ruin this; that I don't want to ruin us,"

"Us?" Blake replies quizzically, slyly grinning at me. "Miss Xiao Long, I'm not sure that I'm ready for such a serious affair," She looks me right in the eyes, her amber eyes goading me to keep talking.

"Then why did you agree to date me? What are you looking for?" I ask, my pride slightly wounded. I know she didn't really mean that, but I still want to know why she's really here.

"Isn't it obvious? I want to get into your shorts," she deadpans. I blush and my jaw drops, I try to speak but my voice refuses to cooperate. "I'm joking," she says, holding her hands up defensively. I exhale the air that was caught in my lungs and take a large swallow of water, fighting off the sudden rush of blood to my face.

"I didn't know you had such a good sense of humor," I counter breathlessly, happy that she's comfortable enough to joke with me.

Soon the food arrives, steaming, ready to eat, and not a moment too soon; I haven't eaten anything all day. Blake licks her lips as the plate is placed in front of her and tucks the tablecloth into her shirt. I follow suit, take up the culinary arms that were provided and dig into my steak. I cut it open and place it in my mouth, savoring the soft succulent flesh. As I bite down, blood oozes out of it. Delicious. Momentarily, I stop eating and look at Blake, she daintily places a piece of salmon in her mouth and closes her eyes, evidently enjoying her meal.

I really enjoy her company, even soundlessly I feel comforted just knowing that she's by my side. We finish eating eventually and pay the check as we leave the restaurant. Of course I treated her to the whole thing. She tells me that she's completely satisfied with the meal, but something's still bothering me. I don't say much and we return to Beacon. When we dismount, Blake surprises me. "Hey, do you want to go for a walk?" she asks, taking my arm in her own. It's obvious that I have no control here. We're going for a walk. I nod my head in response and we walk towards Beacons courtyard.

* * *

"Hey, Blake," I begin as we stroll leisurely through the quad. She looks up at me and smiles knowingly, leading me to a bench. We sit down and she turns her body slightly to face me.

"You want to know why I really decided to date you, am I right?" she asks. How could she have known that? "You tend to telegraph your thoughts," she says mockingly, echoing my words from three months ago. How did she remember that? "Ok. Well, you know that I grew up outside the kingdoms," I nod in response. "Well that was tough to put it lightly. We constantly moved around like nomads. Never having a home was hard for me. Eventually, I found and clung to Adam to give myself a source of stability, but that ended badly. If I'm going to date you, _that_ is what I'm looking for. A home." she says, wrapping her arms around herself vulnerably.

I'm speechless; Blake always puts up a cool front so I've never seen this side of her. She obviously trusts me completely or she wouldn't have told me any of that. Not knowing what else to do, I throw myself at her and hold her. She responds in kind, embracing me fully. I breathe in the scent of her hair; she smells like lavender. We sit there for a while, just holding each other until Blake begins to yawn. I get up and pop open my scroll, checking at the time. Man it's late; the scroll reads one fifteen. "We should head back, it's getting pretty late," I say, pulling her to her feet.

We head back to the dorm and carefully push the door open, Weiss and Ruby are both sound asleep, snoring quietly. We change into our pajamas and get ready for bed under the cover of darkness before we retire.

I lay awake, listening to Blake's breathing slowly even out until I think she's asleep. I should try and do the same, but I can't keep my overactive brain from thinking. I wonder how that date was for her, I mean it had to be better than the only one Sun took her on and it _definitely_ had to be better than anything involving Adam. I wonder when I should ask her out again, I mean it's not like I won't be able to talk to her about it; we live in the same room. After tossing and turning, deep in thought for a while, I flip my scroll open; it's two thirty. I doubt that I'm going to be able to sleep tonight.

I leap out of my bunk, landing quietly on my feet and tiptoe to the window. I do this whenever I can't sleep. The calming sounds of the night always help me relax. I draw the curtains and open the window, taking a deep breath of the crisp cold air that rushes into the room. It helps to have a heating aura because I don't feel the cold anywhere but in my lungs.

"Yang," I hear Blake whisper, I leap back in surprise. I thought she was asleep.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," I reply quietly, closing the window. She pulls her covers aside and pats her pillow. What? I raise my eyebrow inquisitively as I walk over to her bunk. "What happened to taking it slowly?" I ask her, standing with my arms folded over my chest.

She rolls her eyes at me, and props herself up on her right arm. Yawning, she replies. "Yang you can sleep in my bed; I didn't say anything about sex,"

I can't argue with that. She moves over slightly as I saunter towards her bed, lying down beside her. As if on cue, she swiftly wraps her arms around my neck and nuzzles into me. "Blake," I breathe, whispering in her ear. She pulls away from me and looks into my eyes sleepily. "I'll be your home," I say wrapping my arms around her.

She smiles in response and moves closer. "I know," she says, softly pressing her lips to my own. My mouth yields to hers and she runs her hand through my hair. As she caught me off guard, all I can do is receive her. I melt under the spell of her kiss and smile. I can't stop smiling, even after she pulls way. After that incredible experience, she winks at me and closes her eyes, burrowing into my neck again. Within minutes she's gone to me and I lay for a little while longer thinking. I'm so glad that _this_ happened; at least now I don't have to worry about her commitment to me.

I wonder what Weiss is going to say in the morning though I guess it really doesn't matter. All in all, everything turned out better than expected.

What was I worried for?

**All characters and intellectual properties written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	7. Chapter 7: Making Leaps Part Two

**Weiss **

"We're going to head down to Vale, don't wait up for us," Yang says, holding Blake's hand with a colossal grin planted on her face. They disappear out the door leaving Ruby and I alone in our dorm. I don't know how Yang still has so much energy; we literally just fought off two other teams in Professor Goodwitch's class.

"Ok, have fun!" Ruby exclaims, waving at the two of them as they leave. "Oh, they're just so romantic, aren't they Weiss?" she asks, bringing her hands to her cheeks. She's not wrong, they are quite good together. It makes me feel rather forlorn; I know that I have Ruby but it's not the same.

Thinking back, I remember that morning one month ago when we found out about them. I was barely awake and on my way back to bed from the bathroom when I noticed Yang and Blake lying in bed together, their limbs intertwined. I yelped in surprise and fell backwards, pulling the blanket off of Ruby's bunk as I hit the floor. In the confusion I managed to wake everyone up. Yang saw me on the floor tangled in a sheet and burst out into laughter. I'm no prude; I just didn't expect to see that.

"Weiss?" Ruby asks, her voice interrupting my thoughts. "Did you hear me? I said that I was going to go to the weapons lab. I'll be back in a couple of hours," she begins to walk out the door and I have a fleeting moment of panic.

"Wait," I call out, she turns to me and cocks her head to the side in a way that reminds me of that adorable dog of hers, Zwei. "Would you mind if I were . . . to come with you?" I ask. I don't want to be alone; besides team RWBY I really don't have many other friends.

"Really?" Ruby asks incredulously. "You know that we have to do _all_ the work there, right?" As if I didn't know that. I swear, sometimes I wonder why I even bother. Rolling my eyes at her, I take Myrtenaster and sheath it at my hip, taking Ruby's hand in my own and walking out of the room.

"Lead the way," I say, motioning for her to walk in front of me. She smiles courteously at me and bounds forward. We walk past throngs of students, all presumably on their way to the city of Vale, or to their dorms; whatever it is that they do after class. Eventually, we make it to the weapons lab and it's . . . surprisingly empty. I understand that its half after four on a Friday afternoon, but I expected the future saviors of the world to flock here like moths to a flame.

"This is it," Ruby says casually, stepping to a workbench with me in tow. She unsheathes her Crescent Rose and flips it into sniper rifle mode, placing it in front of her. I follow suit, unsheathing and placing Myrtenaster on the table. I don't know what to do, the room is so cluttered; there are odds and ends of weaponry hanging all around the room and don't get me started on the state of the floor.

Ruby, not bothered by the mess, takes headphones seemingly out of the void and puts them on as she takes the rifle apart, placing her bolt to the left of the gun. She then removes the clip in the rifle and sets it down in front of her along with the other magazines that she carries in her ammo pouch. I look down at my own weapon and around the lab; Ruby dashed off to another table when I wasn't looking and fusses around there for a while before returning to the bench with a bottle of gun lubricant and a long, screw shaped brush. I should perform maintenance on my weapon as well.

I walk to that other table that Ruby went to before and spot a bottle of dust oil on a shelf, I take that as well as a small cloth and return to the workbench. Looking over, I see her working furiously, bobbing her head to music that I can't hear. Her hands deftly assemble one black dust cartridge after another methodically and honestly, the organization and precision are rather attractive qualities. It's odd to see, as the Ruby that I normally spend time with is so uncoordinated. I look down to my own weapon and see that its needs are taken care of as well. By the time I'm finished cleaning and polishing it, Myrtenaster glows.

I unload the dust chamber inside Myrtenaster and carefully rest it on the table, open side up. Fortunately, it has a self-cleaning mechanism so all that I need to do is fill it with the dust that I want. I take a paltry amount of each of the colors that I use from the school supply and pour to the fill line that I etched in. Afterwards, I slide the chamber back into the rapier and cycle the cylinder a few times to make sure that it's tight. I wouldn't want any dust to fall out; even a small amount has the potential to be deadly. Obviously, I would love to use the dust that I brought from home, but I suppose that it would make more sense to use such fine dust in the field rather than in school.

Ruby quickly assembles her weapon and swings it over her head before returning it to her sheath. I tap her on the shoulder and she removes her headphones before turning to face me. "Hey Weiss, I'm done if you are," she says, looking down at my weapon; her body language saying that she wants to get out of here.

"I'm ready to go, what do you want to do now?" I ask. Looking down at my scroll, I see that about an hour and a half has passed. I hear a faint growling, and peer around, looking for the source of the noise. When I look back at Ruby, I see that she's clutching her stomach.

"I'm kind of hungry," she replies, shrugging apologetically. I smile in spite of myself and suggest that we go to my favorite coffee shop. We haven't been there in ages; the last time was a few months ago when we first started to spend time together. She agrees very enthusiastically and we make our way into Vale. Maybe we'll run into Yang and Blake.

The coffee shop is exactly as I remember it; it's good to know that nothing has changed. Ruby leads us to the table that we used last time and we sit down, opposite each other. The only difference is that this time, Ruby isn't upset. At the very least, she doesn't look it. "Thank you," she says, smiling appreciatively. Her stomach growls for the second time in five minutes and she frowns at it, sighing. I flag down a waiter and he comes over, notepad in hand. I make sure to order Ruby whatever she wants. Other than my friendship, she never really asks for anything else from me and I love that about her. What can I say? I like to spoil her. When we're satisfied with our order, the waiter bows respectfully and leaves.

"Why are you thanking me?" I ask, very intrigued by her. She rubs her left shoulder and rolls her head, causing very audible popping noises.

"Man, that was killing me," she says, gripping the back of her neck. "I'm thanking you for agreeing to come with me to the weapons lab," I look at her in a somewhat confused manner, that doesn't make sense.

"Ruby, I asked you; you didn't ask me," I say. She looks back at me and opens her mouth, then looks up as if staring into her brain. It's quite amusing to be honest.

"Are you sure?" she finally asks, "I guess I forgot to ask you. Oh well, I'm just glad that you were there," For some peculiar reason, I blush at her statement. She pulls my hands to hers across the table and rests her head on them, it's a pleasant moment, but it's very rudely cut off by her stomach. Fortunately for her, the waiter returns with her extra sweet latte with extra sugar, my iced coffee and a plethora of sugary snacks; all of which she wanted and promised she would eat. The waiter was a good sport about the whole affair and even brought us a few extra strawberry macarons. "On the house," he announces as he places them down although I already knew I would pay for them. I don't mind it that much; seeing the look of wonder on Ruby's face makes it all worth it.

As soon as the pastries hit the table, Ruby begins to shovel them into her mouth; she's not even delicate with it. However, to be perfectly honest, it's rather endearing. A younger version of me would have called her childish, but I realize that those qualities are what make her special; they're part of the reason that I've come to care for her as much as I do. "Slow down, you're going to make yourself sick" I chide softly.

She tosses the last cookie into her mouth and chases it with her now lukewarm coffee, groaning painfully and clutching her stomach soon afterwards. I roll my eyes and swallow the last of my drink. I should get her back to the dorms; she'll either be riding out a sugar induced frenzy or sick to her stomach. Based on the expression that she's currently wearing, it's more likely to be the latter.

I was wrong; goodness I've never been so wrong. Ruby's body apparently opted for the sugar high. Surprisingly, getting her back to the dorm was the easy part. Dealing with the aftermath is turning out to be the hard part. "Ugh. So tired," she mumbles, yawning widely. That girl can burn through calories inhumanly fast.

I guide her to our side of the room and she stumbles, nearly out of energy. Unable to muster up the strength necessary to climb up to her bunk, she instead collapses wholly onto my own in an aimless heap. Her right arm is twisted beneath her body, yet she doesn't even try to adjust her position; that can't be comfortable. As her partner, I have an obligation to help her in her time of need so that is exactly what I do. Gently, I roll her onto her back and manage to get her underneath the covers. I tuck her in to make sure that she won't roll off the bed while she sleeps, I wouldn't want her to get hurt in bed of all places.

I flip open my scroll, its eight twenty. Based on what I've garnered from Yang and Blake's dating habits, I know that they shouldn't be back until sometime after one. After toting Ruby around all day, I should be tired, but I'm not. Looking over to Blake's bookshelf, I notice a book sticking out. It's that historical romance novel that she's always reading when she thinks nobody else is looking. How careless of her. Hm. She probably wouldn't mind if I read it as long as I put it back when I'm finished.

I take a seat near the head of my bed and listen to Ruby breathe softly. She's completely out cold; nothing I do now could wake her. The sound of her breathing is soothing and soon I am able to lose myself in the book. It's wonderful; since our time here at Beacon, I've been unable to read purely for my enjoyment. This is a welcome change.

Time passes quickly as I journey through lands and loves long forgotten and eventually, I hear Ruby's breathing break off abruptly. A mighty yawn immediately follows. My scroll reads eleven forty nine. I get up and put the book down on the bookshelf. Then turn to look at Ruby, she smiles at me, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and stretches her arms out towards me. She's always so huggy when she wakes up. That's alright; I think I need a hug. Romance novels always put me in a somewhat affectionate mood. I roll my eyes and lay down beside her, nestling into her warm embrace.

"Weiss, I had a crazy dream," Ruby begins, looking down sheepishly. She smells like strawberries; she always smells like strawberries.

"What was it about?" I ask, humoring her, although I'm genuinely curious. Giggling to herself at my response, she nestles into me and begins to speak. However, her voice is muffled by my body and I'm unable to hear her.

"Ruby, I don't understand what you're saying," I say, mildly pushing her off of me. Her face turns red at my touch and she averts her gaze from my own. "Could you repeat it?" I request, trying to look into her eyes in an attempt to read her. The only thing that I determine is that she's embarrassed, but of what?

"Ok," she says, taking a breath. "In my dream, you and I were together," that catches me off guard causing me to stammer for a few moments before I can finally speak comprehensibly.

"You mean dating, right?" I ask, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. Laughing nervously, I draw her closer to myself to hide my face from her. "That's preposterous," I whisper, unable to control my tone of voice. It is preposterous, isn't it?

We lay together in an awkward silence, neither of us knowing what to say. I try to enjoy her embrace but the thought of her dream gnaws at me. I'm about to speak, but as I do, Ruby pulls away and looks into me. Her eyes tell me that she's upset; I don't want her to be upset. "Have you even considered it?" she says, her voice wavering slightly. The truth is, I have considered it before, but our age gap has kept me from making any advances. I want her to be happy, but I'm afraid. Afraid that I'll hurt her in some way; she shouldn't have to feel that kind of pain so young.

"Of course I have," I reply truthfully. At my response, her eyes light up and I can see a small glimmer of hope appear. It takes me aback; I didn't realize that I meant so much to her. "Ruby, it's just that I'm two years older than you; I don't want to hurt you,"

She cups my face gently with her right hand and rests her forehead on my own, deeply breathing in my scent. "Then don't," she utters quietly, "at least give it a chance. If it doesn't work out, we'll still be partners," I suppose it wouldn't be able to get awkward between us and if it did, well we would just have to work through it. Being a huntress is a job, and we both know that well. Maybe I should give her a chance; I would be lying to myself if I said that I didn't want this . . . I just don't want to be lonely anymore.

"Ok," I reply. The smile that brightens her face causes my heart to melt. However, this is very delicate ground; while she had a point, I still don't know if it's smart to date her. It could cause me to lose my composure while in situations of duress and if I were to get too attached to her and then lose her. I shudder at the thought.

No. That won't happen. I'll do everything within my power to keep her with me, even if it means making sacrifices. I'll deal with anything that's thrown at us and ensure our success.

Besides, she's worth it.


	8. Chapter 8: Taking Chances Part Two

**A/N **Thus ends the "Radix" story arc. Don't worry though; there will be more to come.

**Ruby **

Sheesh, this is how Yang must've felt that whole day before her first date. Ugh, I can't take this waiting; I'm so anxious that I could explode. I sit down on Weiss' bed and take her pillow, squeezing it to my body. I breathe in the scent and my breath catches; it smells like just like her. I hug the pillow tighter and imagine that it is her, but in that cute nightdress that she wears.

No. This is no good. My heart throbs painfully, beating quickly and I'm unable to calm it down. Just thinking about her sends my heart into overdrive, how can I slow it down?

I know! Since I can't slow my heart rate down, I'll just have to speed up. I throw the pillow down and stand up, stretching before I begin to sprint around the room. I run slowly at first to build up speed, but eventually I'm a blood red tornado. I run until I can't run anymore and collapse onto Weiss' bed, breathing heavily.

Oh man, I think as my heart continues to beat rapidly. That didn't work at all; now I'm just tired . . . and sweaty. My scroll reads two thirty; I have enough time for a shower.

Growing up, dad always told us that a cold shower is a cure for everything. It turns out that he was wrong; no matter what I do, my heart will not work with me. As I towel off, I hear pounding on the door. "I'll be out in a sec!" I yell, wrapping the towel around my head.

I push my way through the door and see my golden haired sister standing over my bed. "Yang? What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be out with Blake?" I ask, questions pouring out of my mouth uncontrollably. It's hard to focus sometimes.

"Hey sis," she says, raising her eyebrow with a smile. It suddenly occurs to me that I'm not wearing any clothes. I pull the towel out of my hair and wrap it around my form, although being naked in front of her doesn't bother me. "I'm just making sure that you're all ready for your date with Weiss. What are you going to wear?"

"Well, I was going to wear my hood an-,"

"No," she remarks, cutting me off. "While I'm sure Weiss would be alright with that, I took the personal liberty of buying you a new dress," she says, opening the closet that she and Blake share to reveal a skirt dress that I would call impractical. It's deep red with lace zigzagging across the bodice, not unlike the skirt that I normally wear. This one's different though because it's sleeveless and there isn't much above the shoulders; it leaves my neck completely open. The skirt itself is nice; it's the same shade of red with white ruffles beneath it. The only problem is that it cuts off near my shins; I wouldn't be able to move very well in it. I do like the way the skirt flares out though. Hm.

After arguing with Yang for nearly an hour, we decide that it would be best for me to wear leggings and my combat boots beneath the skirt. She leaves me in the room to get ready and reminds me that my date with Weiss is in an hour. I peek out the door to make sure that she's gone before fastening my hood over the dress. She means well, but nobody separates me from my hood. Anyway, it'll offer me some protection from the cold.

I should do something special for Weiss, I have a lot of extra Lien saved up, but what should I get her. Maybe a shoulder scabbard for Myrtenaster, she always complains that it gets snagged on trees and stuff. No, maybe I should buy her some dust oil so she can keep her weapon shiny, but she's a Schnee, she can have anything dust related whenever she wants. Oh come on, think Ruby. What would Weiss like?

I got it.

* * *

I make my way into the city of Vale and stop by the first shop that I can find. Oh man, Weiss is going to freak out. She'll say 'Wow, Ruby, you're the most thoughtful girlfriend that anyone could have,' I can see it already.

Weiss told me to meet her at the docks and I'm so excited; I just can't keep myself from smiling. As the dock comes into view, I see her, wearing her bolero over a very frilly skirt, leaning over a rail. Of course, it's a city so there are other people there too, but Weiss is the only one that I can see. My heart jumps into my throat and I hold my hand with the surprise behind my back. I come up behind her and tap her on the shoulder, "Hi, Weiss."

She turns around and puts her hands behind her back. Her jaw drops as she sees me. "R-Ruby? You clean up well, I have something for you," she says, blushing softly.

"You didn't have to Weiss, you're the greatest gift of all," I say, smiling to myself. She rolls her eyes, but smiles to herself. Yes, that was smooth; Yang would be so proud right now. "But wait, I got you something too. Let's reveal them on the count of three,"

"One . . . Two . . . Three," We hold our hands out and I immediately burst out into laughter. _We both got roses for each other._ What are the odds of that? I mean, in the stories that Yang used to read to me, the ladies loved to get roses and I thought, well Weiss is a lady so I might as well get her some, but I didn't expect her to get them for me too.

"It seems that great minds think alike," Weiss says, smiling at me. She's so beautiful when she smiles; it makes it so hard to think straight. We exchange roses and she gently takes my hand, "I made us a reservation at five," she says, leading me into the commercial district.

* * *

"Tastes of Atlas," Weiss announces, gesturing at the building with a sweeping motion. "The cuisine is nearly authentic; my father used to take Winter and I here . . ." she trails off, dropping her hand. Not knowing what else to do, I take it in my own and squeeze it supportively. "Why don't we go inside?" she suggests, pulling me into the restaurant.

The inside of the restaurant is very . . . nice. It's just that it's plain, not that there's anything wrong with plain, but I think that the decorators could have done more than just build a few columns and stick tables around them.

The host takes Weiss' name down and guides us to our table, graciously seating us at the head of the room. He leaves, but quickly returns with two vases, placing one of our bouquets in both. It really adds to the, what was that word that Weiss used before? Amphibians? Ambulance? No, wait, it was ambience. Right above us, there's a really big, fancy chandelier which also helps. I can't help but wonder if it's stable though; by the look of it, the weight that would come crashing down could be bone shattering to say the least.

"Ruby," Weiss says, interrupting my thoughts as she slides a menu across the small circular table. "You can order anything that you want; it's my treat," she declares, a small confident smile, upon her face. Ugh, she looks so great tonight, but I don't want to make her pay; she always pays for me.

"Weiss, would it be ok if I paid for us instead?" I ask. She looks at me in response, surprised, but chuckles, smiling warmly.

"That would be ok, and it's very mature of you," she says, tucking her lower lip underneath her front teeth.

Nice, Ruby. She's in a good mood; you're doing great, I think to myself as I pick up the menu. As I read the first entry, I suck in my breath in astonishment. That's a lot of money for a fish filet. I can't go back now though; I already said that I would pay. Peeking around my menu, I see that Weiss is going through hers too. I hope she doesn't pick something too expensive. Looking back into my own menu, I see that the Atlesian salad is cheap. I wonder if I can get them to add strawberries to it.

Eventually, Weiss decides on the salad as well, causing my wallet to sigh in relief. Not being able to pay really could have caused a problem.

"How was your day?" I ask, trying to make small talk until our food gets here, it's tougher than I thought it would be. Just act naturally Ruby.

Weiss sighs; clasping her hands together and places them on the table. "I've been in the city all day, taking care of some of the work that my father refuses to see to. Quite frankly, it's unacceptable; a man of his stature should at least be able to send someone to see to his messes so that _I_ don't have to clean them up," she always seems so on edge whenever she talks about her dad. I need to change the subject.

"My day has been great so far, but it would have been better if you were in it." I say, grasping her hands from across the table. She smiles appreciatively and sighs, a faint pink color appearing in those porcelain cheeks of hers. The sight causes heat to rise to my face as well even though I'm not embarrassed.

"You're so sweet, Ruby," she says, rubbing my calloused palms with her thumbs.

Soon, our waiter arrives with our salads. He precisely slides them onto our table and drizzles our choice of dressing on top of it. It turns out that they do have strawberry vinaigrette; I don't know what vinaigrette is, but I do love strawberries. We dig into our salads; at least I do anyway. I haven't had anything to eat all day, but I still want to save room for dessert. Weiss daintily places small pieces of salad in her choice of dressing and pops them into her mouth, carefully dabbing at the ends of her lips after each bite. By the time that she's eaten half of her salad, I'm already done with mine, but I pick at what's left to keep myself idle.

"That was yummy," I declare, as she finally finishes her food. "But what kind of desserts do they have in Atlas?" I ask, my stomach growling at the mention of dessert.

She rolls her eyes playfully at me and smiles, flagging down our waiter. She whispers something in his ear, causing his face to light up. "Excellent," he says, taking our plates away and speed-walking towards the kitchen.

"What did you tell him?" I ask, my wallet growing wary of the whole situation. She laughs at my hesitance and takes my left hand in her own.

"It's a surprise. Don't worry, I have it completely covered; consider it a gift," She says. The waiter comes back with a humongous brown cake that is covered in frosted writing. My jaw drops at the awesomeness that's placed on the table.

Oh that girl really knows how to spoil me.

"This is an Atlesian almond cake. It's basically a moist cake that's filled with sweet almond paste; I think you'll like it," Weiss says bashfully, hiding behind the cake. What does the writing say? I stand up and walk around our table, reading it to myself.

"For . . . the . . . girl . . . most . . . special . . . to . . . me," I say, sitting back down in my seat. That really means a lot to me, I know that Weiss doesn't let many people into her life. I don't know what to say.

"Thank you for being there for me, Ruby," she eventually says with a smile. _That_ I know how to respond to.

"Weiss, I told you once and I'll tell you again. I'm _always_ going to be here for you no matter what." I reply, knowing that my words are true.

Taking the cake knife, she cuts off a slice and places it on a pastry plate, handing it to me.

"Forever?" she asks, looking into my eyes with those probing, glacial spheres. I cut off a piece of the cake with my fork and take a bite. The creamy filling bursts into my mouth and I swallow, relishing the sweet aftertaste.

Looking her in the eyes, I smile, "Forever."

Well, this cake isn't going to eat itself.

* * *

The dorm room is quiet, my scroll reads nine fifty. I look at Weiss and she has her scroll open, probably checking the time as well. She and I both know that we have a lot of time to spend together tonight. With a full belly and an empty wallet, I pull off my boots and lay them in our shared closet. "I have one more thing for you," Weiss says, her soft voice carrying through the otherwise empty room. She takes a bag out from beneath her bunk and pats the bed next to her; I saunter over and drop down beside her. Reaching into the bag, she pulls out a large book. It looks just like the ones Yang used to read to me from when we were kids.

It _is_ that book, how did Weiss know?

"I thought that you might want to read with me; I want to know all about those stories from your childhood," she confides. I agree with her, kind of too enthusiastically, but suggest that we change into our pajamas first because that's how I experienced the stories as a kid. To be honest though, I really just want to get out of this dress.

Weiss agrees with me and we turn down the lights so that all we have is a dim overhead gleam.

Soon, we're sitting on the edge of her bed. She wears that nightgown that I love and I can barely take my eyes off of her.

Resting the book on the space between our legs, we begin to read. This first one has always been one of my favorites; it's about a huntsman who's one true love, a huntress, gets kidnapped and swept away to a secret fortress. He journeys alone into the mountains because he knows where the fortress is for some reason, and tries to save his love. Then in a fast paced turn of events, he defeats the bad guys, and rescues the huntress. The huntsman may not have saved the whole world in this story, but he did save his own world, against all odds. That, among other things, is why I wanted to become a huntress in the first place.

We spend the rest of the night reading. There are stories of fabled heroes, come to save all of Remnant from the shadows that threaten it. There are stories of loveable fools, who, unaware of what they're doing, save the day. Finally, there are stories of sorrow and loss.

I don't need to read those; I know what loss is like.

Sensing my discomfort, Weiss closes the book and returns it to the bag that she pulled it out of. She reaches her arms around me and pulls me tightly to her body. I could get used to that. "Ruby, talk to me; what's wrong?"

I suddenly realize that I've never told her about my mom; if she's going to be a part of my life forever, she deserves to know. "Well, you know that I grew up with Yang and my dad, but I don't think I told you about my mom," she nods knowingly. "When I was very young, my mom . . ." I can't finish my sentence, a ton of emotions that I've been keeping inside spill out and a single tear rolls down my cheek.

She turns my face and looks into my eyes. I try to look back but I can't see past my own tears.

"You don't need to explain a thing, I understand," she says, gently kissing me on the cheek. Her comfort level with me has changed a lot since we first met. I'm really happy to be with her; I cover her hand in my own and try to smile, for her sake at least.

"Weiss, promise that you'll be with me forever?" I ask, neediness shooting through me.

"Yes, I promise. I couldn't get away from you if I wanted to; we're partners you dolt" she replies softly, holding me in her arms. And, even though I'm sitting on level ground, I can feel myself falling for her and I'm happy. I mean, I knew that I liked her romantically, but I wasn't sure if it was going to go anywhere. There are so many things that can happen and we're still really really young so I didn't want to get my hopes up. Anyway, I'm not unsure any more.

She's right; we _are _partners and we always will be.

**The characters and intellectual property written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	9. Chapter 9: Days We Cherish

**Yang**

How did we let Weiss convince us to sit outside? There isn't a single breeze blowing through this entire dock. For mid spring, it's surprisingly hot; just like Blake! Come to think of it though, I'm not surprised by Blake; I already knew that she was hot. Turning her head and draping my arms around her neck, I part my lips and gently press them against hers. She very eagerly responds, placing her hands on my shoulders and pushing back into me to Weiss' obvious disapproval.

"Could you two do that somewhere else? We're in a public place," she says bluntly, fanning herself with her left hand. I unwillingly break apart from Blake, but not before giving her one more peck on the lips. Then, I put my right elbow on the table, resting my head on it. Weiss is one to talk. Her free hand lies flat, its fingers intertwined with Ruby's. That's the most public affection that I've ever seen her show and from what I can tell, my baby sister has wanted more for at least the past two months. I'm not judging her; it's not her fault that she's in love with a girl who's made of ice. I can tell that Ruby is absolutely head over heels and her happiness makes me happy. I just want her to experience the joys of true love, I know I have.

I look at Blake in a way that, if she hadn't been sleeping with me for the past three months, probably would have made her uncomfortable. She lovingly smiles back at me, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh, please. Just go back to making out," Weiss begs sarcastically. Well, I'm never one to disappoint; Blake would know. I smile at the ice queen and kiss Blake on the cheek, playfully egging her on.

"Oh forget it," Weiss utters exasperatedly, throwing her hands into the air. That's the reaction that I wanted. "Let's go somewhere cool, I can't stand this heat."

She can't be serious; we've been sitting out here for more than an hour waiting for drinks that'll apparently never arrive. _It was also her idea._ Man, Weiss really knows how to drive me crazy. I turn to my left and see Blake narrowing her eyes; I guess she shares my thought. Sensing a potential fight, Ruby leaps to her feet, pulling Weiss up and wraps her in a hug. "Oh Weiss, you're so thoughtful, isn't she?" Ruby says, looking into my eyes pleadingly. She knows that I can't do anything when she looks at me like that. I back off and throw my arm around Blake's shoulder; my touch seems to calm her down.

"Ruby, please," Weiss says, attempting to disentangle herself from my baby sister's grip. Reluctantly, Ruby lets her go and looks down, moping. I don't know what she was expecting, besides keeping team RWBY from going to war with itself, that is. It's Weiss, she won't ever get anything from _her _in public. I still feel bad for her though; maybe I can help her out later.

* * *

Once we're up and moving, the breezeless day doesn't bother me; all that matters is that I have my favorite girl with me. Looking at Ruby and Weiss, I notice that they're holding hands. Huh, I guess she did get something from Weiss in public. We reach Beacon's campus and walk, somewhat leisurely, eventually reaching the dorm building. Ruby holds her scroll to the reader and pushes the door open; a rush of cooler air hits us. "Ah, how I love air conditioning," Weiss exclaims, sitting on the edge of her bed. I would make another joke about her being made of ice, but that would be too obvious.

Now, for my plan.

"Hey, Blakey let's go have a walk," I say, affectionately wrapping my arms around her slender waist. That should get her, she loves being hugged.

"Yang we just came from outside, could we just relax?" She replies, kissing me on the cheek. Well there goes that. Good thing I'm always prepared.

Releasing her, I take a step towards the doorway and smile slyly, "Oh come on kitty cat," I say, folding my arm over my chest. Slowly, Blake turns towards me, a low growl emanating from her.

Uh oh.

It all unfolds so quickly, in an instant I'm out of the room and sprinting down the hallway, my black haired lover chasing after me. We run up, down and around the dorm building forever and finally, I look behind me and I see that she isn't there; I must have lost her. I stop for a few minutes, catching my breath before I begin to walk back towards our dorm room. As I turn the first corner, a shadow leaps out at me and pins me against the opposite side of the hallway.

"What? Blake? I thought I lost you," I say, struggling in vain against those wonderful wonderful hands of hers. Keeping her grip firm, she moves her mouth to my neck and traces a small circle with her tongue before gently nibbling at it. I sigh at her touch and pull her head closer, biting my lip to keep myself from moaning. I love it when she takes control, it's so sexy.

"Yang. I. Told. You. That. I. Don't. Like. Being. Called. That," she says, punctuating each word with a bite. Oh man, I'm going to be covered in hickeys, not that I mind; there's just something about having a mark left on me; it shows that I'm hers entirely and I love it. By the time she's finished biting me, my knees quiver uncontrollably. She stares at my neck and flashes a small grin at me, obviously pleased with her handiwork. "I think you've learned your lesson," she says, turning tail and walking away. I lean against the wall, taking deep slow breaths and soon, my strength returns and I chase after her, grabbing her hand. "Are you ready for round two?" she asks, smiling at me roguishly. My heart throbs in my chest but I shake my head, I need to see if my plan worked.

"As much as I would love to Blake, I have a plan. Come on," I say leading her outside. We walk around the building and eventually get to the spot right below our window. Thankfully, I see that the curtain is drawn; the plan is a go. I remembered earlier that Sun climbed up this tree to get to our room about a year ago so I figure that we can do the same. I mean how hard could it be?

I was right; it wasn't that hard; we scaled the tree without so much as a scratch. Well, I shouldn't say that. Blake scaled the tree without difficulty; I got stuck a few feet off the ground so she pulled me up along the way.

I creep onto the ledge and peer through the window. Perfect, everything is actually working out the way I envisioned it. Now we just have to wait for something to happen. "Yang, don't you think it might be a little weird to spy on your sister?" Blake whispers, lithely perched on the tree branch. I look at her and my eyes are immediately drawn to her toned legs, focus Yang, you can have your cake and eat it later.

"Shh, just watch," I command, looking straight into the window. Fortunately for us, Beacons windows do not do a great job keeping sound in. I would know Blake and I have gotten in trouble for being less than quiet a bunch of times; well, it was mostly me that got in trouble. In my defense, that girl really knows how to use her tongue.

Soon, the stillness of the day is broken by Ruby's voice. "Weiss, can I have a kiss?" she pleads, giving Weiss the most innocent face that she could. Oh, she's pulling out the heavy weaponry. That is going to get her more than a kiss. Weiss sighs; rolling her eyes playfully and draws Ruby in, softly touching her lips to Ruby's own. Enthusiastically, Ruby kisses back pushing back at Weiss until they fall onto a bed.

Blake's bed.

I look at Blake and see that she isn't amused. "They better not do anything that forces me to wash my sheets," she grumbles softly. Leaning forward, I kiss her on the forehead, almost losing my footing, but I don't.

At this point, all that we can hear are the sounds of kissing and a few random moans and sighs. It's not much, but I just wanted to help Ruby get some action; I'm satisfied now and I'm sure Ruby will be too.

"Alright, final part of the plan. We need to barge into the room through the door and embarrass Weiss," I say, rubbing my hands together in anticipation. It might not make sense to Blake and by the look of confusion that she gives me; I can tell that it doesn't. I don't particularly have a problem with Weiss, but making us sit outside for no reason today is unforgivable. "Come on Blakey," I say, leaping off of the building. On the way down, I grab one of the branches and use my momentum to vault forward, landing painlessly on my feet. "Nailed it."

Looking up at Blake I notice that she isn't trying to get down. I know that she isn't afraid of heights, I wonder what's up. Besides her, that is. "Kitty cat, get down here," I say, immediately running back into the building. The sound of boots hitting stone cuts through the air and I know that I've gotten her out of the tree. Instead of running all the way back to the dorm room, I stand my ground and hold my arms out, waiting. Eventually, Blake rounds the corner and, unable to stop herself, plows headfirst into me, knocking the both of us to the ground. "Nice of you to drop by," I say grinning at her. Smiling in spite of herself, she gets to her feet and helps me up. We walk to the dorm, arm in arm and totally in love; I'm totally in love anyway, I can't speak for Blake when I taunt her like this.

We walk to the door and stand ready, infiltration style. Silently, we count to three and all but kick the door down, causing a huge scene. Inside, I see Ruby and Weiss, both in different states of undress. Well, it's really just Ruby who's undressed. By various states, I mean that Weiss has her hair worn down instead of tied up. Ruby rolls off of Blake's bed, startled by the noise and tries to karate chop us from where she's standing while covering her exposed chest, but we're far away and she's trying to hit us with her arms. Ignoring her, I look at Weiss and smile sweetly, her face is as red as Ruby's hood; I didn't even know that that was possible.

Sweet, sweet vengeance.

"The nerve of you!" Weiss bursts out, stamping her feet before storming out of the room. She does that way too often. Quickly, Ruby pulls the top of her skirt back up over her shoulders and blushes delicately, then follows. That went exactly the way that I wanted it to.

"Wasn't that awesome, Blake?" I ask, turning towards my beautiful Faunus companion. She smiles wearily at me and stares at her bed, unsure.

"If I don't do laundry now, I won't have anywhere to sleep tonight," she says, observing the situation and all of the possible outcomes in that attractive way that she does.

"You barely sleep in your own bed anymore anyways Blake. We should just get rid of one of them and just use the other," I suggest. I don't know why she said that anyway; every night we start in our own beds, but she always finds her way into mine. It didn't take very much to convince her and using my strength, we push her bed, sheets and all, out the door and drop my own in its place. She takes the piles of books and arranges them neatly in her bookshelf, smiling at me all the while. As soon as she's done with that, she takes a book and pulls me into bed, curling up in the crook of my arm.

* * *

When I wake up, I see Ruby, Weiss and Blake standing in the middle of our room. Yawning, I get out of bed and look out the window; the glow of the fragmented moon illuminating the campus. "Hey guys, what's up?" I say, stretching my arms and letting them fall around Blake's shoulders.

She looks up at me and kisses me on the cheek, "Hi Yang, how was your nap?"

"Pretty good, kitty cat," I say, clamping my hands over my mouth, unable to stop myself. Blake turns to me and pulls away, placing her hands out in front of her. Uh oh, what she is planning, I think to myself. Very soon, that's made clear as she digs her nails into my side, tickling me. I laugh uncontrollably, jumping from foot to foot. "Blake, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," I say, probably incoherently, slipping on something and falling to the floor. Only then does Blake stop tickling and stands above me, her arms crossed.

"I love you sweetheart," she says, winking at me. Now that may or may not have meant anything to her, but it means a lot to me. If anything, it clears all the doubts that I've had in my mind about her.

Weiss clears her throat, holding what looks like a letter in the air, "Sorry to interrupt your moment, but I have a letter . . . from home," she says awkwardly. We gather around her, as we did when we got Zwei in the mail a while ago and watch her open it. "Weiss, come home. We need help, signed Winter," Weiss' arms drop and she looks up, confused. "Help? From what? Couldn't they have sent an explanation?" She asks, throwing her arms up in exasperation. Immediately, Ruby throws her arms around her, stemming any tears that could have come down before they did. "I have to go to Atlas," she whispers, wrapping her arms around my baby sister.

"Don't worry Weiss; you won't be going alone. You have us," she says, pulling us in for a group hug. It makes me realize something: for all the pranks that we've played on each other, for all the little feuds that we've had, for all the pain that we've endured together, Ruby is right. We aren't just a team, we're a family and I know that through thick and thin, we'll always be there for one another during times of need and _that_ is a good thing.


	10. Chapter 10: Calm

**Ruby**

Well, today's finally the day; we're leaving for Atlas tonight. Weiss and Blake went down to the main city to make sure that all of our preparations are taken care of; Weiss called in a private Schnee Dust Company airship. It's so exciting; I've never ridden on a private airship. But, I think that I'm prepared. My backpack is filled to the brim with a bunch of different snacks so that I won't get hungry. I even packed an extra skirt,but I don't think I'll need it. Suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts, Yang kicks the bathroom door down, a sly smile on her face.

I'm not sure if I like that; the last time she looked at me like that was when we were kids and she wanted me to eat a little bit of dust with her. "Hey, sis, what's up?" she asks, bounding towards me, full of energy like she always is. She drops down on Weiss' bed and looks at me expectantly. The way she said that was innocent enough, but I'm still going to be careful here.

"Hey, I'm just putting the finishing touches on my backpack; I want to make sure that I have everything that I'm going to need," I say, turning to face her. "Where are your things?"

"Ah, Blake is all I need." She replies, throwing her left arm over my shoulder. "I'm so lucky to have her; we really hit the jackpot with these girls," Yang smiles lazily, staring out towards her shared bed, "Speaking of which; how are you and the princess doing? You've been dating for what, four months now?" She asks, her smile fading into a small grin.

"Actually, we've been dating for three months, twenty five days, fifteen hours and fifty minutes," I reply instantly, looking down at my scroll. I love Weiss so much, but I don't want to tell her that yet. She may not feel the same, I mean I know that she loves me as a friend and as a partner but she may not love me romantically and I just want to keep her with me forever.

"Sheesh, that's . . . kinda sad that you know that off the top of your head, Ruby, but also kinda cute that you're so in love with her," Yang says, smiling at me knowingly. Ugh, she doesn't understand. She knows that I've been completely obsessed with Weiss ever since last year. To finally be with her is just . . . awesome; I can't put it into words. "So . . ." she begins, trailing off.

I don't like the sound of that.

"How far have you gotten?" she asks casually, propping herself up using her arms.

Immediately, I feel heat rush to my face, "Whatdoyoumean?" I reply quickly, knowing exactly what she means. I can't believe that she would ask that so openly. I stand up and turn away from her, rubbing my cloak; it helps me to calm down slightly. When I feel my face start to cool down I take a deep breath and turn around, looking at my older sister.

"You know. Have you . . . done it yet?" she questions, looking straight into my eyes.

"Yang Xiao Long! That. Is. Private." I yell, stamping my foot and using her full name for emphasis.

She pushes off the bed and raises her hands defensively, "Whoa, Ruby. Calm down I was just kidding, you don't have-"

"Nope," I respond, cutting her off. Truth be told, I have wanted _that_ for a while. It's not my fault, what can I say? "We haven't _done it _yet," the blush returns to my pale cheeks. Yang is lucky like that, I _know_ that she and Blake have been . . . going at it a lot; they try to be quiet when they do, but my sister really can't keep it down.

"Ruby, it's alright, that girl is definitely rubbing off on you," she says, snickering to herself at the pun. I suddenly feel need pulse through me and I squeeze my legs together, trying to push away the thoughts of Weiss touching herself.

"Why do you want to know? I finally ask as the feeling begins to go away. She can't have just stayed with me just to talk about my love life. Yang looks at me and gasps dramatically, bringing her right hand to her mouth.

"I'm offended; I can't ask my own little sister about her life? What is the world coming to!" She yells, waving her fist in the air as she theatrically falls to the ground. I roll my eyes at her and watch as she lays on the floor, her eyes shut. Eventually, one violet eye flutters open, and she smiles at me, flipping to her feet.

Well, after seeing that, I think she deserves to know at least a little bit; I mean I have told her everything for as long as I can remember, why not this too? "To be honest, Yang, I've wanted Weiss in every way for the longest time but, every time I try to engage something, we get interrupted. Remember yesterday?" I ask, glaring at her with a slight blush on my face. I've been blushing a lot lately.

"Sorry, Ruby," she says, smiling evasively, "I promise to make it up to you in Atlas; Weiss' place must be huge so I'll make sure that the two of you get the alone time that you deserve," she gets to her feet, and walks to the door, leaving me sitting alone on Weiss' bed. "I better go find Blake; I was supposed to be in charge of packing our clothes, but I don't know what underwear to bring," she confides, winking at me.

I'm glad that we had that conversation; Yang and I haven't had a serious private conversation for a pretty long time, I guess we've been so busy with school . . . and our girlfriends. I sigh longingly; I love the thought of Weiss being my girlfriend.

I hope I don't screw it up.


	11. Chapter 11: Looking In

**A/N Hello readers, I hope you're enjoying what I have here. Don't be afraid to leave a review, I'll be sure to take all of it into consideration. Also, if you like what you've read, I also have a collection of one shots under the name "A Compendium of RWBY" that you would probably like to check a bunch - Apollo**

**Weiss**

Oh, the city of Vale looks absolutely breathtaking from this high up; from the ground, you wouldn't even know it, but the elegant spires, the far reaching steeples and of course, the overwhelming and powerful presence that Beacon seems to emanate makes me sigh in appreciation. Atlas doesn't have anything like this; the skyline of the main city mostly consists of white, rectangular, high rise buildings with my family's estate, and the CCT as the most contrasting sights; it's supposedly more space efficient, but also more bland. Even the way the light of the moon hits Atlas is different; it's so soft and welcoming in Vale, but in Atlas, it seemingly shines from everywhere and feels imposing and suffocating, even with all of the space. I sigh again, but this time in anticipation and in dread of what's in store. Why does my family need me?

Suddenly, breaking into my thoughts, a pair of arms reaches around my petite waist and squeezes me tightly.

They can only belong to one person.

Ruby nuzzles me, pressing her face to my cheek and I welcome her, sighing yet again, but this time in relief. "What's wrong, Weiss?" she asks, her wonderful voice purring in my ear. These past few months have been incredible; Ruby has been more than everything that I've wanted in a relationship. I find that everything about her draws me in; she seems to always know exactly what to do to make me feel better and she's unconditionally devoted to me so I know that I don't need to be jealous of anybody else. Quite frankly, she's my dream come true, but I don't want to rush things with her; this needs to be perfect, _I_ need to be perfect. She deserves no less.

"It's nothing, Ruby. I'm just a little bit nervous," I say, although truthfully, I'm more than just a little bit nervous. I'm in no rush to take over the family company; however this is the road that I seem to be headed down. Winter can have it; I just want to be my own person.

Ruby yawns in my ear and I chuckle, turning around to face her. She smiles up at me sleepily and to my surprise, pecks me on the lips. "Ruby!" I gasp, a surprised blush forming on my face.

"Weiss, it's sleepy time; come to bed," she commands, pulling me towards the single queen sized bed that stands in the middle of the otherwise empty compartment that we're sharing for the ride. That may be the only reason that she was excited for the trip; we never share a bed at Beacon despite Yang and Blake doing so. I roll my eyes at my weary leader, and let her guide me to the bed. She pulls the covers aside and throws herself onto it, yawning once again as her head touches one of the two pillows that lay against the headboard. Her yawn seems to be contagious and I cover my own mouth to stifle one, frowning down at the freshly covered mattress; our skirts are going to be completely wrinkled tomorrow morning. "Weiss," Ruby groans, putting her arms up to make space for me. I lie down beside her on my left shoulder, facing her and tenderly stroke her face once before softly kissing her on the cheek. She smiles, looking at me, but can barely keep her eyes open. I smile back at her and, putting the final nail in the coffin, kiss both of her eyelids, causing her to involuntarily shut her eyes. She doesn't open them again, and soon begins to snore. Enveloped by Ruby's warm embrace, I feel my eyelids growing heavy and pull the covers up to our necks, nestling into her before I let sleep blanket me, coaxing me into a sweet, peaceful oblivion.

* * *

I wake up to a soft light hitting my eyes, and pull the covers over my face. It's so early. The droning vibration of the airship emanating from beneath me lets me know that we're still in the air and I yawn, rolling closer to my comatose girlfriend. She's so beautiful when she sleeps; I know it seems odd; the last thing people think when they look at Ruby Rose is that she's beautiful. The scythe and the adolescence usually precede it, but when I look at her, that's all that I see.

Suddenly, her breathing falters and she opens her eyes drowsily. Looking into my eyes, she smiles melting me where I lay. "Heyyou," she says, slurring her words, still obviously intoxicated with sleep. "Where . . . are we?"

"Good morning, Ruby. Why don't we wash up and find out?" I reply, kissing her on her forehead. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, hearing a thud followed by a soft sound of pain. That dolt, she rolled off of the bed. That wouldn't be the first time she did it, back at Beacon she would roll off of her bed at least once a month. Fortunately, her aura spared her any serious damage then. "Are you al-" I begin, walking over to her side of the bed.

"Yeah, I'm ok," she responds leaping to her feet. "That definitely woke me up," she says, looking down into my eyes. She's grown so much over the past year; she was always taller than me, but it's more noticeable when I'm not wearing my pumps. I roll my eyes at her and kiss her nose, taking her hand as I walk out of our compartment.

The communal washroom is in the middle of the hallway, halfway between our room and the room that Blake and Yang share. I open the door and step inside with Ruby in tow; our toiletries are all aligned across the ledge beneath the long mirror that runs along the wall. I walk to the sink with my toothbrush and begin my morning routine, trying to preen myself to a presentable level. It's a good thing that I took a shower last night, I think to myself as I hear a shower running. Based on the layer of steam that coats everything, I can tell that it has been on for a while. Soon after the thought, my concerns bear fruit as I hear a string of lustful whimpers that I know belong to Blake. That Yang Xiao Long is an animal, and can barely keep herself off of that woman, but it seems that the feelings are mutual. I see a light blush forming in my cheeks as Yang's own noisy moans are added to the mix. I look over at Ruby who shares a similar expression to my own. We quickly finish up and ascend to the main deck of the ship, escaping the sexual cacophony of the room.

* * *

Clear awe fills Ruby's smoky eyes as she looks down at the snow covered mountain ranges, fields and well . . . everything that are typical of Atlas in the early summer. "Wow, it's incredible," she exclaims, clapping her hands together. I smile in spite of myself and put my right arm around her shoulder, if she's impressed with this, I can't wait until she sees our CCT.

Blake and Yang eventually join us, their auras practically glowing. "Good morning team RWBY!" Yang shouts, taking a bite out of the protein bar that she holds in her right hand.

"Isn't it a little _too_ early for that, Yang?" her sister asks, grinning from ear to ear.

"What can I say? I need my protein after a workout," she replies with a wink, making Blake blush furiously.

"I'm so sorry," she says simply, covering her face with her hands in an attempt to hide her reddened cheeks.

"It's alright, I know it isn't _your _fault as much as it is that overgrown brute's," I remark, staring a challenge into Yang's lavender eyes. She shrugs it off, knowing all too well that it's true.

"So, what's for breakfast?" Ruby interjects, swinging her arms back and forth. "I'm starved,"

I think to myself for a moment; the ship is amply supplied with ingredients and nonperishable foods in the event of a disaster. We could always heat some of it up, but we have the skill to make our own food using the ingredients. Taking the initiative, I herd my teammates into the kitchen and give each of them a role.

Yang would play the role of the chef; Blake would obtain the necessary ingredients; I would wash our equipment, and Ruby would dry it. It sounded extremely effective in theory, the specialization that we each had was supposed to make sure that each job was performed well, but that didn't exactly work out.

Ruby, Yang, Blake, and I sit at the singular, metal counter facing the kitchen, silently chewing on our eggshell infused omelets. Yang _supposedly_ grew up with Ruby; she told me stories of how she often had to cook for her younger sister, and now I feel rather awful. For Ruby that is. If this is her making breakfast, then how did that brute of a blonde _ever_ care for Ruby, let alone herself?

Amidst wrapping up our less than stellar breakfast, a voice blares on the loudspeaker. "Miss Schnee, we are about to make our descent towards the estate," I nod, although he can't see me and gaze down over my childhood home. Its sloping gables are covered in snow, and by the look of the dark grey sky, more is on the way.

Our pilot, having performed a docking maneuver countless times, does so again flawlessly, landing on the rooftop without so much as a bump. I dismount first, helping Ruby down and taking her bag from her; no girlfriend of mine carries her own bag. "Thanks, Weiss," she beams, kissing me on the cheek. I lead my team down to the third floor where we'll be staying, each in separate rooms of course. I wonder where my mother, father, and sister are.

As my teammates settle into their rooms, I explore the grand foyer three floors down, expecting to find any of them. I turn the corner leading to the main sitting room; I'm met with a familiar face: my family's head butler, Anstett. He greets me with a smile, bowing courteously.

"Good afternoon Miss Schnee, I had no idea that you would be returning," He says, his monotone voice attempting to hide the surprise that is evident in his stiff, yet servile motions. "I haven't seen you since the day you arrived at Beacon at the beginning of your fall semester." Since then, his handlebar moustache has grown twice as long.

"Anstett, I'm glad to see you. Do you know where I might find Winter, or father? They sent a letter, asking me to return," I say, looking around the room. Things haven't changed since the last time I've been here; it still feels too empty, too cold, and too lonely. Anstett looks at me curiously, and wrings his hands together.

"Miss Schnee, I'm afraid that they've been in Mistral for the past two months. They can't have sent you that letter," he responds matter of factly. I involuntarily suck in a breath, blanching at his words, though the naturally pale complexion of my skin hides it well.

Something strange is going on here.

"Now is there anything that I may do for you?" he asks, breaking into my thoughts. I stay quiet for a moment, trying to keep my face placid; Blake once told me that it isn't wise to lose your composure so easily.

"Yes, I didn't come alone, my teammates from Beacon are accompanying me for as long as I'll be staying and I would greatly appreciate it if you could bring us a pot of peppermint tea. We'll be on the third floor parlor," I say, forcing a smile.

He bows courteously once more, turning and walking towards the kitchen adjacent to the sitting room. Once I'm sure that he's gone, I glide up the stairs to the third floor and assemble my team, leading them to the parlor that lies across from the stairs. Inside, a couch stands in front of an armchair, only separated by a long, glass coffee table. Yang sprawls herself out on the couch next to the single oval window that overlooks the heated pool. Blake saunters in behind her, curling up between the crook of her arm and the armrest, opening a familiar book.

"Weiss, I borrowed this from your library. I hope that's ok," she says, shrugging apologetically. I nod understandingly and enter the room after Ruby who plops herself down on the armchair facing the couch. She pats the space next to her and I smile in spite of myself, squeezing next to my ever affectionate leader.

We sit quietly as Anstett enters the room shortly thereafter, giving me an intrigued look as he sets the tray down on the coffee table. "Will there be anything else, Miss Schnee. Maybe something sweeter for your _friend_," he remarks, giving me a knowing smile. I frown at him and he takes the cue, bowing as he exits the room. "Let me know if you need anything else, you know how I do love to serve."

"Thank you Anstett," I say, getting up to pour myself, and each of my teammates a cup. When I sit back down, Ruby rubs my back as if she can sense my nervousness.

"So, Weiss. Why did you call us all here? I know it wasn't just to have tea," Blake observes, eyeing me from just above her book. Confound her and her superhuman intuition. I blow on my tea, taking a sip and look up.

"Correct. I have a suspicion that more may be going on here than we know. Winter didn't send that letter, she couldn't have. My family has been in Mistral for the past two months," I say, running my free hand through my hair. For once, I'm upset that my father isn't here. Everything would make much more sense than it does now if he were.

"Wait!" Ruby interjects, nearly spilling my tea. "If Winter didn't send that letter, then who did?" she asks, getting to her feet.

"It's almost like somebody wanted you here," Yang comments, looking around the room suspiciously.

"Hold on, we can't jump to any conclusions. If somebody _did_ want Weiss in Atlas, we need to find out why," Blake declares.

She's right; it wouldn't be smart to make an assumption. We need to find more evidence first and tonight, that is exactly what we're going to do.

**All characters and intellectual property written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	12. Chapter 12: On the Hunt

**A/N Hey again, sorry for the wait, but if you want to read a little bit more; I have another experiment that I'm writing under the name **_**A Compendium of RWBY. **_**I would also appreciate it if you guys dropped some reviews to let me know what I could do to improve, or even just to let me know what you think. Thanks a bunch - Apollo **

**Blake**

Snapping my black leggings up around my waist, I turn to face Yang who lounges in a rocking chair facing the closet, as completely dressed as she'll ever be. She wears black short shorts that suspend two distinctly different stockings: A white knee high one on her left and a thigh high one on her right leg whose fiery golden color nearly matches that of her hair. I lent her a dark, draped jacket with white buttons which she wears as well, over the same orange tank top that she wears to sleep. "So, Blake . . . are you going to put on a shirt or just stare at me? Your boobs are kind of distracting," she comments, all but drooling over me.

"Sorry," I reply, rolling my eyes at her. I turn back to the closet, put on my black intruder jacket and zip it up. To top it all off, I tie my bow over my cat ears and wrap my arms in ribbons, who knows? They may be useful later. "How do I look," I ask nonchalantly, turning towards my partner. She pushes off of the chair and stands up, skirting around the king sized bed towards me. While a bed that big is completely unnecessary, I think it'll be pleasant to wake up without hair in my face.

Yang wraps her arms around my waist and pulls me close to her. To keep myself from falling, I put my hands up and rest them against her chest. "You always look great, Blake," she responds, smiling widely at me. How sweet. I throw an arm around her neck and tilt her head down, kissing her full on the lips before pushing her off towards the bed. She falls backwards, but catches herself with her elbows, she looks back at me, her eyes smoldering with very obvious desire. "I love it when you get feisty."

I roll my eyes at her yet again and walk over to her, helping her up although she doesn't need it. "Come on, Ruby and Weiss are probably waiting for us," I take her hand in my own and pull her through the bedroom door, softly shutting it behind me.

Weiss nods to us as we enter the parlor, squeezed in next to Ruby on the armchair. Yang jumps onto the couch and bounces an inch into the air, landing with her feet on top of the coffee table. I set up beside her and cross my legs, brushing my hair out of my eyes; it's getting a little bit long, I should cut it soon.

"Hi guys," Ruby says before shoving a handful of strawberries into her mouth. Their love is absolutely adorable, even if they won't admit that they're in love; Weiss has no problem giving Ruby whatever it is she wants whenever she wants. Besides sex of course, to my knowledge, Weiss and Ruby haven't gotten to that stage yet.

"Is that my stocking?" Weiss asks, glaring at Yang's left leg.

Yang shrugs, smiling at her and rubs the back of her head, "Yes," she responds, offering no explanation for it. Ruby, to calm her partner, takes Weiss' free hand in her own and strokes it as she pops another strawberry into her mouth.

"So . . . to go over everything again: Somebody posing as Winter sent me that letter for an unknown reason . . ." Weiss begins.

"And it's our mission to find out why," Ruby finishes, smiling at Weiss who kisses her on the cheek.

"Our first stop should be the CCT, I need to call Winter. My father _will not_ know about this," Weiss says resolutely. That's a great idea, but all four of us don't necessarily need to be there.

"Weiss, although we don't know the city, wouldn't it be more efficient if we were to split up?" I ask, gripping Yang's hand behind my back. I know that she knows how to deal with the more shady areas of Vale, so maybe those skills will be useful here. Weiss ponders my thought for a moment and looks at Ruby who nods her assent. That ought to settle it.

"Ok, we'll split up and meet at the front of the estate in exactly four hours. Ruby and I will go to the CCT . . . again and you two will look for any rumors regarding the Schnee Dust Company and anyone who may be targeting my family," Weiss says, holding up her scroll. We synchronize our scrolls' timers and put them away. We all have our missions and leave through the circular window and climb onto the roof, beginning to make our way towards the city of Atlas.

* * *

Atlas is exactly as I pictured it to be, crowded and gray, but somewhat rigid; the throngs of people don't move as fluidly as those in Vale, although that may just be a result of the soldiers on every street. I hope Vale's military never intertwines itself with the government this heavily. A large snowflake lands on my nose, catching me by surprise and I sneeze into my elbow. I hear Yang's entrancing laughter coming from my left and she picks me up twirling me around. "Yang . . . I can't . . . breathe," I gasp, sucking in air when she lets me down.

"I'm sorry Blakey, but being with you makes me feel so alive," she says, tugging me down the snow strewn block.

Eventually, we find ourselves in a decidedly more dubious part of town and stop, standing in the middle of the sidewalk. While this still has the feel of Atlas, there are no longer soldiers on every street. I suppose _that_ luxury belongs exclusively to the 'elite'.

"Hey, Blake, isn't that a bar?" Yang asks. A sign that reads 'The Factory' hangs off of its hinges above a staircase that leads downwards. That looks safe. "Let's go," pulls me towards that markedly shady establishment, against my wishes.

"Yang, we're out here to scout, not to drink," I protest, pulling against her. While I know that we can handle ourselves in a fight, I don't like the idea of going into there without knowing something about it first.

"Drink? Who said anything about drinking, this is how I get my information," she says. I can't really argue with her logic and stop struggling, willingly following her down into the building.

As soon as we push open the doors, a mixture of stimuli assault my senses. A loud cacophonous din strikes my sensitive ears and it takes me a few seconds to adjust. A mass of people congregate in the middle of the bar, on the dance floor, moving in time to the music - if it can be called music. I clutch Yang's arm and follow as she walks towards the actual bar, pushing her way through the crowd.

"Hello girls, what can I do for you?" The bartender asks in a monotonous, metallic growl, eyeing us up and down. Upon further examination, I notice that he or _it_ rather is a repurposed Atlesian knight 130. I know that they discontinued that line, but I had no idea that they were still being used.

"We just want to know about the local happenings. Are there any strange things going on with the Schnee dust company?" Yang asks. If it was possible for a robot to look suspicious, then this one has accomplished that.

"I don't remember, maybe the two of you having drinks would jog my memory," it says. The meaning is evident, even with the mechanical tone. Yang sighs and pulls out her wallet, slamming a Lien card on the counter.

"Give me two strawberry sunrises. No ice, and make sure to add one of those little umbrellas to each," she orders as if she'd done it before.

"Coming right up," the bartender says, beginning to go to work on our drinks. "The Schnee Dust Company eh?" it asks, artificial inflection appearing in its voice. "Just two months ago, a big dust refinery exploded near the mountain range. The official cause was faulty machinery," it begins, sliding a glass to Yang.

Bringing the glass to her lips, she takes a tentative sip, "But you don't think that was it," she says, taking a huge gulp from the glass. That's not good; she hasn't really had much to eat all day.

"Rumor has it that they weren't only refining dust there," it replies, sliding me my own glass. Like Yang did before me, I take a sip, but leave it at that.

"What do you mean?" Yang asks, taking another long swallow from the glass.

"That's all I know, everything was kept very quiet in the aftermath of the accident, but supposedly, that refinery doubled as a military laboratory."

Interesting, the timing lines up with Weiss' family going to Mistral; this may be a lead. I look at Yang to see if she shares my sentiment, but the only thing that I'm sure she sees is the bottom of her glass.

"Blake, you going to finish that?" she asks me, pointing at my drink. For her sake, I take it and spill it out into the nearest trashcan to her dismay. It's better this way; I need her at her top game and I'm fairly certain that being drunk won't help.

"Thank you," I say to the bartender who nods in reply. Dragging Yang off of her seat, I pull her into the cool air of the city. "I'm sorry about the drink, Yang, but I need you to be aware. I'll make you another one at Weiss' place later,"

She takes a step towards me, somewhat shakily and hugs me. Her breath smells like strawberries and alcohol. "Aww, I need you too, Blake," she replies, smiling and taking my hand in her own. It's good to see that she harbors no resentment towards me.

I know that we were supposed to meet back at the estate in four hours, but we haven't slept since the airship ride here and I don't think that it would be smart to keep my somewhat inebriated partner out for much longer. What she needs now is something to eat, a bath, and a warm bed, all of which I wouldn't mind giving her.

Just as we're about to start walking back, I hear a loud crack and I'm hit in the right shoulder by what feels like a hammer. I'm thrown back onto the pavement and quickly flip to my feet, a throbbing pain emanates from my shoulder and I put my hand to it. When I pull it away, I find that it's wet and slick with my own blood. Looking back up, I see a squad of Atlesian Knights aiming at us, walking in our direction with their slow, stiff gait.

"Blake!" Yang yells, her Ember Celica morphing into its weapon mode. Wait, those are Atlas' police. It would be better to run; that way, we won't be in any danger of an arrest. This bullet wound will heal anyway.

I hate getting hurt in front of Yang; she completely loses any ounce of self-control that she would normally have. With a battle cry, she pounds her fists together and lights up, her eyes glowing blood red against the grey and white backdrop of Atlas. Shooting the ground behind her with her right hand, she launches herself into the air and comes down, twisting her hips and using the momentum to swing her fist around with bone shattering force, effectively removing the upper body of the lead knight. It falls to the ground, spasming electrically, but eventually lays still. I try to raise my arm to grab my weapon, but flinch in pain. They must have hit my shoulder socket.

"Cease and desist," one of the remaining three knights commands, aiming its rifle at Yang's head.

"You shot at my girlfriend!" Yang shouts, her golden hair ablaze as she drops down to the floor and sweeps out the legs of two knights, dropping them like stones. Firing down, she uses the energy to throw a powerful uppercut at the only standing knight, launching its head out of view. It falls to the ground in a misshapen heap, alongside the other two. Yang makes quick work of one of them pummeling its head into the floor with brutal efficiency. Before she can start on the remaining robot, a spotlight shines down from a flagship grade airship overhead and a voice rings out, over a loudspeaker.

"You were asked once, you will not be asked again; Cease. And. Desist," it says authoritatively. The knight aims its gun at Yang who stands firm. She backhands the gun out of the knight's arms and it shatters as it hits the pavement. Following up, she sucker punches it in the abdomen, firing her weapon and sending it flying across the street.

"Yang, please. I'm fine; we don't want to get in any trouble here," I plead, slowly walking over to her, but unable to move my right arm. Atlesian soldiers stream down from the airship, weapons in hand. They probably saw everything that happened and are trying to minimize the risk; after all, there is strength in numbers.

"You're under arrest for destruction of government property," The voice over the loudspeaker says. I can see fury boiling in Yang's now lilac eyes.

"They started it!" She screams, clenching her fists.

"Yang, relax. We'll sort this out with whoever's in charge," I reply, rubbing her shoulders with my useable hand; I don't want her to know how bad this injury is right now.

* * *

Soon we're in the airship, blood drips down my arm slowly, but I put pressure on the wound, keeping it from bleeding heavily. Using my good arm, I unwrap one of my ribbons and place it above the wound, tying it with my teeth. It makes a rather effective bandage. A soldier gets us up and escorts us to the bridge, where a single man in white stands, upright with his hands behind his back.

He turns around and smiles at us, extending his right hand to me, "Hello. Blake Belladona, was it?" I look at him and clutch my right arm, I still can't move it.

"Ironwood, what's the big deal? Your robots shot her in the arm," Yang says acidly, a calm anger to her voice.

"What? The patrol knights don't carry lethal weaponry, they couldn't have shot at you," he says with certainty, dropping his hand.

Great. So far, this trip has been filled with could nots and impossibilities. I sigh, looking down from my feet. I don't understand what's going on.

"Blake? Yang? What're you doing here?" Ruby asks, running towards Yang and tackling her in a hug. "Oh, Yang. You smell like alcohol," she says, pinching her nose. Weiss follows behind her and stands, staring the general down.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention it, but your sister and Miss Schnee are here as well," Ironwood says, making a sweeping motion towards them as if we didn't already see the two of them.

"What is going on here general?" Weiss asks, a commanding tone in her voice as though she were talking to one of us instead of one of the most powerful men in all of Remnant.

Ironwood doesn't respond and turns, staring out the great window menacingly before uttering a single phrase.

"You must leave Atlas."


	13. Chapter 13: On the Hunt Part Two

**A/N Hey guys again, I hope you're enjoying the story arc. In any event, I would still love it if you guys left reviews. Regardless of if you have something good to say or not, I want to hear it. Thanks - Apollo**

**Weiss**

Following our meeting in the parlor, we all return to our rooms to get ready for tonight's mission. My first thought is to change; these clothes are nearly wholly wrinkled and I don't want to be seen in them. I know that I should really only care about what Ruby thinks, but growing up under a spotlight has taken its toll on me. I left my snowpea outfit back at Beacon; that would have been a decent option. Hm. I throw open my closet and root around inside, looking for something that I deem satisfactory, and eventually find a blazer with frills at the arms, obviously in white. I pull my bolero off as well as my skirt and try it on, looking into the mirror that's built into the closet door.

It doesn't hug my petite figure as well as I would like, but it will have to do. I take it back off and lay it on my bed, standing in front of the mirror in my underwear. Ruby would have a fit if she saw me in these; she's only ever seen me in my nightgown and, although she thinks I don't notice, I do see that she can't take her eyes off of me when I wear it. Inside, I find a white gathered skirt with random, red undertones. Putting them on, I decide to forgo my tiara, and instead keep my ponytail in place with a simple, black hair tie.

Patting myself down, I make sure that I look neat and tidy before walking down the hall and into the parlor. There, I see my partner, sitting in the plush, velvet armchair, dressed in a palette swapped combat skirt. Over it, she wears one of my boleros. I don't remember lending one to her; she must have taken it from the dorm without my knowledge.

"Hi, Weiss," she says, smiling mischievously at me. My heart throbs and I know that this girl will be the death of me.

"Ruby, dear, I absolutely adore you, but please. Let me know when you're going to borrow some of my clothes," I say, squeezing in beside her. To her surprise, I turn her head and press my mouth to hers, feeling her lips yield to my own. I have no problem doing this privately; if I'm completely in control, that is.

"Weiss . . ." Ruby moans, wrapping her arms around my neck. She presses into me, and winds her fingers into my hair, murmuring softly.

I break away from her and look into those charcoal eyes of hers that burn with love, and lust, "Yes, Ruby?" I ask, smiling fondly at her.

She pulls away from me completely, placing her hands in her lap and blushes, looking into me, "You wouldn't happen to have any strawberries, would you?"

Such. A. Child.

I smile in spite of myself and roll my eyes, kissing her on her forehead, "I'll go check the kitchen."

Running my hands along the smooth wooden banisters, I walk down the staircase to the ground floor and enter the sitting room. Anstett sits in one of the two armchairs, a cup of tea and a saucer on its arm, and a book in his hands, "Good evening, Miss Schnee, it's rather late. Is there anything that I can do for you?" He asks, ever loyal.

"Good evening, Anstett, I don't mean to bother you; I'm just looking for some strawberries," I reply. If I can do something for myself, I will. Being a Schnee doesn't mean that I can't be self-sufficient.

"Oh? I didn't know that you cared for those," He replies, taking a sip from his teacup.

"They're not for me, they're for my . . . partner," I explain, shifting my weight from heel to heel.

"Say no more, Miss Schnee. I've seen you grow from a young child; I know the look of love in your eyes. There are strawberries on the lower shelf of the refrigerator," He replies, smiling knowingly at me.

I nod my head in thanks and walk through the sitting room into the dining room and finally into the kitchen that lies adjacent to it. I suppose I'm a little bit obvious when it comes to Ruby, hopefully Anstett doesn't reveal the nature of my affection to my family. I should be the one to do so. I walk into the large, industrial kitchen that is usually heavily staffed and open the refrigerator, noticing the plump, red strawberries, sitting in a ceramic, white bowl on the bottom shelf. I bend over and pick it up, slowly making my way back to the parlor. As I pass through the sitting room, I see that Anstett has returned to his book and walk up the stairs and into the room where my precious rose sits, fiddling with on her scroll.

"Ruby, I have your strawberries," I say, sitting to her right as I pat my skirt down. I hand her the bowl of fruit and she pops one into her mouth, her face lighting up happily.

"Thanks, Weiss. Here, try one," she instructs, placing a strawberry in my mouth before I have any time to argue. Resigning myself, I bite down and a cold burst of juice fills my mouth. The sweet, tart flavor dances along my tongue as I chew and I close my eyes, relishing the taste. I've barely swallowed it when Ruby cups my cheek with her free hand and plunges her tongue into my mouth, prodding my teeth. I relax my jaw and sigh into her, feeling heat rise to my cheeks and submit, allowing her to explore to her hearts content. Finally, after what feels like hours, she breaks away, smiling playfully, "Sorry, I wanted to see what it would taste like," she says, before placing another one in her mouth.

That's another taste that I'll relish.

Thankfully, that kiss lasted only as long as it did, because Blake and Yang enter the room shortly afterwards. In typical fashion, Yang leaps onto the couch and puts her feet on the coffee table. How uncivilized. However, if I am going to marry Ruby one day, I should at least try to tolerate her brute of a sister's antics.

"Hi guys," Ruby exclaims, showing no trace of the vigorous tongue workout that we had just partaken in. Staring at Yang, I notice one of my white stockings, stretched over her leg.

"Is that _my_ stocking?" I ask, glaring at it. How did she even get that? I've been in my room all afternoon. What is it with these sisters and taking my clothes?

"Yes," she replies simply, shrugging at me. I'm about to get up to yell at her when Ruby grabs my hand, looking at me and strokes it before biting down on another berry. That girl knows me too well.

For her sake, I calm myself and look at Blake who sits, curled up next to Yang and begin to speak, "So . . . to go over everything again: Somebody posing as Winter sent me that letter for an unknown reason. . ."

"And it's our mission to find out why," Ruby says, smiling at me endearingly.

Unable to help myself, I kiss her on the cheek and continue to speak, "Our first stop should be the CCT, I need to call Winter. My father _will not_ know about this," I say, gripping the armchair with my right hand.

"Weiss, although we don't know the city, wouldn't it be more efficient if we were to split up?" Blake interjects. She has a fair point; that way we could cover more ground and be back in the warmth of Vale sooner rather than later.

"Ok, we'll split up and meet at the front of the estate in exactly four hours. Ruby and I will go to the CCT . . . again, and you two will look for any rumors regarding the Schnee Dust Company and anyone who may be targeting my family." My teammates wear looks conviction, mirroring my own and we get up, synchronizing our scrolls before climbing out of the window, onto the roof and into the night. I hope Anstett doesn't look for us.

* * *

Ruby and I walk through the crowded streets towards the CCT, which stands out like a King Taijitu in a crowd of Beowolves. Already, I can see a look of innocent wonder alighting on Ruby's eyes, completely contradicting the passionate fervor that she displayed earlier in the parlor. I smile at my partner, but keep my hands to myself; I have yet to openly declare my feelings for her outside of Beacon and you never know who might be watching.

Finally, we reach the tower and Ruby looks up, not making quips towards me like she had during our trip to Vale's CCT. I realize that I may have had feelings for this little whirlwind even then, but coming to terms with them took a while. Only then do I take her hand and pull her towards the tower; it looks more like a friend guiding another friend, rather than a girlfriend displaying affection.

The inside of Atlas' CCT is nearly identical to Vale's; however, it pales in size when compared to our own. We walk through the grand, circular lobby, past the large cylindrical terminal towards the elevator and as the door closes, a synthetic voice greets us, "Hello, welcome to the CCT, how may I help you."

"I'd like to go to the communications room please," I reply, standing with my hand on my hip.

"Absolutely, could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?"

"Ooh! I want to do it," Ruby exclaims, quickly trying to pull her scroll out of her pocket. As uncoordinated as ever, she fumbles and drops it. Miraculously, it hits the terminal in the correct orientation before falling to the ground with a metallic clatter.

"Perfect, thank you, Miss Rose," it responds before the elevator begins to move . . . very slowly. It reminds me of our second semester; the elevator moved so slowly that it was dark by the time I got out despite it having been midafternoon when I finished my call.

Ruby bends over and picks up her scroll, giving me a tantalizing view of her . . . lower half. As the elevator moves, she pokes her fingers together, sneaking glances at me, but she doesn't need to sneak them, I'm _her girlfriend_. Although I'm not particularly proud of the way I look, if she takes pleasure out of it, then I'm happy.

"Slow elevator ride, huh?" She asks, taking a step closer to me. I think about stopping her from what she's obviously trying to do, but it isn't like the elevator stops until we reach our destination; nobody will interrupt us.

"What are you asking me, Ruby?" I inquire, meeting her beautiful, gunmetal gaze. Of course I know what she wants; she's been bolder recently. There's no doubt in my mind that it's a result of that older sister of hers. I don't mind though; I love it that she sees me for me, and not for my money.

"You know, Weiss," she responds silkily, wrapping her arms around my middle and pulling me into a warm hug. Leaning upwards to look me in the eyes, she moves her head closer to mine and kisses me tenderly, but with passion. When we finally break for air, I see a tinge of red that's deeper than her normally rosy complexion. Smiling affectionately, she tilts her head and presses into me, pushing me against the wall of the elevator. I can feel heat rushing to all my extremities; there's something oddly alluring about being helpless in the arms of my rose. It may be that I know that she would do nothing to hurt me.

As she infiltrates my mouth with her tongue, I feel an intense need to be in control; if anything, it would help me regain my naturally pale countenance before we reach the communications room. Moving my arms from her lower back, I grab ahold of her right arm and spin her, pinning her to the wall in my place, "Weiss!" She gasps, blushing intensely. I smile at her as seductively as I can and go on the offensive, kissing her lips delicately and with tempo, barely keeping her mouth empty for more than a second. Clearly, it's having the desired effect as she struggles against me, trying to keep her mouth to my own.

A sudden ding breaks us apart; we've reached our stop. I step away from Ruby, my own face nearly free of blush while hers is completely blanketed. She breathes heavily, trying to slow her heart rate and fans herself with the collar of the bolero that she wears. The doors open and directly in front of us, a holographic receptionist sits at her desk. I smile confidently and walk up to her, placing my hands on the desk.

"Welcome to the Atlas Cross Continental Transmit center, how may I help you," she asks with a smile.

"I need to make a call to Winter Schnee, in the Schnee Dust Company's Mistral headquarters," I reply. Ruby walks to my side and shoves her hands in her pockets, still breathing quickly.

"Absolutely, if you could head over to terminal four, I'll patch you through. Unfortunately, there seems to be a bug in the system and we are only able to transmit and receive audio. Is that alright?" she inquires, smiling hospitably.

"Yes, of course," I reply, sighing internally. I'm glad that I won't be able to see Winter, but more importantly, she won't see me. This should be much easier as I won't have to force a smile and lie through my teeth whenever she asks how I'm doing.

Ruby and I walk to the terminal where I take a seat. Then, looking towards my companion, I get up and offer her the seat instead; she is younger than me . . . and still out of breath. She smiles gratefully and opens her mouth to say something when the terminal's audio feed begins to transmit. I press a finger to my lips and she nods obediently, taking out her scroll and using it.

"Hello, Weiss," Winter's disembodied voice receives.

"Good evening, Winter," I respond, standing with my hands behind my back.

"I know that this isn't just a sisterly call, what's on your mind?"

I think to myself, wondering how I should respond. How much should I tell her? _What_ should I tell her? Before she speaks again, I do, "Why are you in Mistral with father? He can make deals on his own, can't he?" I ask, ready to begin what will necessarily be a verbal fencing match with my sister.

"I'm with him because _somebody_ is too busy at school to come back during the holiday," she fires back, evidently bitter over my decision to stay with my team, and Ruby.

"Look, I said that I was sorry about that, but I've had to handle things at Beacon. What kind of deal is father trying to make anyway?" I inquire, trying to soften myself to be more empathetic; she's my younger sister, I shouldn't argue with her. When I look at the relationship between Ruby and Yang, I feel somewhat jealous, but it isn't in my nature to let _anyone_ close. That's what makes Ruby so special to me, she isn't just anyone.

"It's nothing big; he actually finished the deal about a month ago. He was trying to get a Mistrali contractor to build a fireproof refinery down here in Mistral; The Schnee Dust Company is trying to expand in order to truly become an intercontinental company."

Of course that's the reason; he's not trying to bypass the Atlesian laws preventing the indenturing of Faunus or anything. For the CEO of a company, he does a great job of telegraphing his business decisions. I'm not sure if Winter can see that, but like I've said before, my father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it. Hopefully, she'll be a better CEO than he ever was after he steps down.

"Why not build another one in Atlas?" I ask.

"I don't know, Weiss. All that he told me was that it couldn't be there. And by the way things are looking; I don't think we'll be back until the start of your fall semester. I have to go; father is going to need me soon. Goodbye," she says rapidly, and with that, the audio cuts out, leaving me more confused than anything.

"Ruby, we need to meet up with the others, I need you to make the call as soon as we get out of here," I say, getting up and walking towards the elevator.

As it descends, I wrap my arms around myself. Why do I always feel so empty after speaking with any of my family members? Ruby seems to sense my mood and takes my hand, stroking it soothingly like she's done so many times before. The elevator ride feels shorter this time around, and before I know it, we're on the ground level. We walk through the cylindrical rooms towards the lobby, before pushing aside the doors and into the cold, crisp, Atlesian night.

Almost immediately, a spotlight shines down on the street, illuminating a platoon of Atlesian soldiers in red and blue helmets. They stand intensely, pointing their weapons at Ruby and I. Protectively, I grab her and stand between her and the soldiers; she's always so willing to take a hit for me, but so am I for her. I draw Myrtenaster and thrust it out in front of me as threateningly as possible while trying to defend the girl on my arm.

"What's the meaning of this?" I ask, brandishing my weapon like a torch against our foes.

"Weiss Schnee, stand down. We're under direct order from General Ironwood. You are to come with us," The lead soldier in yellow says, motioning to the airship that levitates soundlessly overhead.

It looks like we have no choice; our only other option would be to stand here and fight, but they know who I am, and any action that I take here would reflect badly upon my family, and my team. Raising my right arm, I sheathe my weapon and step forward, allowing the airship to lower its mechanical ladder. We climb up into the ship and stand in its hangar, awaiting instruction from the soldiers that at this moment hold us prisoner, whether or not they will admit it.

"Weiss, what do you think the General wants?" Ruby whispers, taking hold of my right hand.

"I suppose we'll find out soon enough," I reply, glaring at the soldiers around us.

As the lead soldier enters the hangar, the entire platoon salutes him, standing at attention, "Miss Schnee, I apologize for our suddenness, but the General requested your presence and would not wait until morning," he says apologetically. "If you'll follow me, I'll bring you to him."

That was a command under the clever guise of choice. Ironwood isn't just playing general tonight, he's playing politician as well. We follow the soldier through the skeleton of the airship until we finally reach a staircase that leads us into a grand observatory with a single window to oversee the world below. To my surprise, I see a golden mass of hair, and a silhouette that must be Blake, standing in front General Ironwood himself.

"Blake? Yang? What're you doing here?" Ruby asks, sprinting towards Yang and leaping into her, hugging the older girl as if she hadn't just seen her a few hours ago. "Oh, Yang. You smell like alcohol," she remarks, pinching her nose in distaste as she breaks apart from her sister. I walk up to the four of them and stand, looking into the General's seemingly welcome expression.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention it, but your sister and Miss Schnee are here as well," He says, sweeping his hands towards Ruby and I dismissively.

"What is going on here, General?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips. He may be the general of our military, but that doesn't excuse him from the use of proper etiquette.

He turns away from us and looks out the window, wordlessly. I stand waiting for a response impatiently; Ironwood obviously knows something. I'm about to ask again when the General speaks again with pompous, self-righteous certitude.

"You must leave Atlas."

* * *

**A/N Hello, I hope everyone enjoyed that. By now, we're starting to have a picture of the events transpiring here in Atlas. I'd love to hear what you guys think is going to happen or any thoughts that you might have in general. Thanks again for your continued support. **


	14. Chapter 14: Bittersweet

**A/N** **I. . . I'm at a loss after writing this, I'm sorry if you aren't into it lol. Anyway, drop a review, follow, or a favorite, it really helps me out. Thank you for your continued support - Apollo**

**Ruby**

"Leave Atlas? Why?" I ask, surprised, "But we just got here!" I didn't even get to spend a romantic day with Weiss; I've been on my scroll all night, looking for different restaurants and dating hot spots that I could take Weiss to.

"We have reason to believe that the Schnee family is being targeted," Ironwood replies monotonously.

Targeted? The Schnee family? That means that Weiss is in danger too! Oh no!

"What do you have to prove that?" Weiss asks aggressively. I don't think I've seen her so wound up since we first met.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that presently," Ironwood replies, still looking out that giant window.

"By who? You're the general of the Atlesian military!" Yang yells, taking a shaky step forward.

Ironwood stands as stoic as ever, refusing to face us. "Leave Atlas immediately. Washington, escort these ladies to the Schnee estate."

Any protests that we have are instantly silenced by the cocking of multiple rifles by the soldiers that guard this room. How strange I didn't even notice them before. And it looks like the only person that's threatening a Schnee right now is the general himself.

The same soldier with the yellow stripe, like a faithful dog, comes over and as he was told, leads us out of the airship. I don't get it. Why couldn't Ironwood just tell us what we needed to know? You'd figure that he would've learned something from his time at Beacon; we sure did cause a lot of trouble. The soldier takes us to a black car, opening the door for the four of us; it's spacious on the inside and we're able to squeeze together without a problem. After a short and very quiet ride back up and into the grounds of the Schnee estate, the soldier bids us a good night and leaves us, standing on the giant white steps of the estate.

When he's gone, we sneak around into the backyard of the estate and stand underneath the parlor window. Weiss nods at Blake and somehow, Blake understands to throw her wrist-attached Gambol Shroud up, embedding it into the roof. When she's sure that it's nice and solid, she climbs up using only her left arm, I forgot to ask her how that happened, but I can do it tomorrow. We climb up, wordlessly and stand in the parlor, greeting each other good night.

Before Weiss makes the turnoff into her room, I grab her arm and pull her into mine, "Ruby, what-" she begins, but I silence her, kissing her on the lips sloppily.

"No girlfriend of mine is going to sleep alone when there's danger!" I declare, waving my fist in the air.

"Ruby, be quiet," she commands, wiping her lips with her left sleeve. "Anstett might hear us."

"Does that mean you're going to spend the night with me?" I ask, excitement rising in my chest. Oh boy, this is going to be great. We can read - I brought the book from home - and I can paint her nails and snuggle her.

"Hush you dolt," she replies affectionately, kissing me on my forehead. "I still need to shower. I feel disgusting for being in that two-faced general's presence."

She walks out of the room, booping me on my nose as she does. I feel a slight throb between my legs at the thought of Weiss rubbing herself with different soaps and stuff and I bite my lip to keep my cool. Don't worry Rubes, she'll be in your room all night; if there was ever a time when you were going to get some, it would be now. I take a deep breath and lift my corset, sniffing inside it. I haven't showered since before the airship; I probably should do that as well.

Walking down the dark, quiet hall, I hear Blake stifle a cry of pain from her room. That can mean one of two things and I shudder at both thoughts; I don't need to be thinking about my sister doing it with my teammate. In the only bathroom on the floor, I hear the shower running and knock on the door three times, awaiting a response from within.

"Weiss, it's me," I say before I hear the lock on the door disengage. Stepping into the bathroom, I get a glimpse of Weiss' naked form slipping back into the shower.

"Be careful, Ruby. The floor is slippery," she calls, her voice muffled by the sound of running water.

Taking that into consideration, I remove her bolero and place it onto the haphazard pile of clothes in the middle of the room. I undo the corset and step out of my combat skirt, kicking it aside as well. I hadn't worn any panties and was going to tease Weiss with it, but Ironwood's random appearance poked a hole in that plan.

I tiptoe over the cold tiles towards the shower and take a hold of the curtains, stepping into the shower with the girl that I love - I haven't told her that I love her yet - and smile shyly at her; this is the first time that we've both been naked together at the same time. I have no problem with Weiss when she's clothed, but with her wet, unclothed body in front of me, I need to take a breath to calm down. Of course, she isn't facing me, probably to keep her decency or something, so I can only see the subtle curves of her figure.

Weiss pumps some shampoo into her hands and runs them through her beautiful ivory hair, lathering it in. All that I can do is cover myself, staring at her body in appreciation because I do appreciate it and her.

"Ruby, could you pass me the soap?" Weiss asks, massaging her scalp without looking at me.

Unable to move, I stand stupidly with my mouth hanging open and stare at her until she turns around swiftly, her wet hair swinging around with her. "Ruby Rose, I asked you for something," she says expectantly, holding out her hand.

Only then am I shaken out of my daze, taking a bar of soap that sits on its rest and dropping it into her hand. She smiles at me appreciatively, kissing me on the cheek and I try to meet her gaze, but am unable to tear it away from her naked chest.

"Come here," she commands and fortunately, at this point, I can move.

I take a step towards her and she softly tugs on my arm, pulling me to her. She lathers her hands with soap and rubs my shoulders, looking into my eyes inclemently. As she does, the water washes it off and a trail of bubbles winds its way into the drain.

"Weiss, what are you doing?" I ask, not exactly protesting. She lathers more soap onto her hands and rubs along my arms and down my back, gently cleaning me. Why is she doing that? I'm definitely old enough to clean myself.

"What does it look like? I'm helping my girlfriend clean herself up," Weiss replies, moving along my hips and closer to my butt.

I blush as she eventually reaches it, tenderly rubbing soap along my curves. Then crouching down she rubs around my waist and between my thighs, carefully avoiding the narrow slit at the center. I shiver in delight as she brushes past my button and feel the blood rush there, causing it to throb lightly. Weiss doesn't seem to notice and continues down my leg, meticulously scrubbing my leg.

Finally, after having completely washed my body by hand (for the most part), Weiss stands up and kisses me on the cheek before turning the handle and shutting the shower off.

I didn't think that through before when I was getting out of my clothes and pick up my combat skirt which is now sopping wet with water. How did this even happen? Weiss stepped out of the shower for thirty seconds to open the door for me. I look at Weiss confusedly, but she isn't paying attention to me right now and instead blots her body with a baby blue towel, drying herself off.

"Weiss, I need you to go into my room and keep the door open, I'm going to use my semblance to try to get in before anyone can see me," I say, shivering. I need to get a towel.

"Don't be silly, I have a cabinet for towels," Weiss responds, walking to a door next to the entrance to the bathroom and opens it. Revealing stacks upon stacks of towels.

Oh.

Taking a towel from the closet, I wrap it around myself as Weiss wraps up her hair. We walk out of the bathroom together, tiptoeing to make sure that we're not discovered by her butler. At the door to her room, she turns to me, whispering, "I'm just going to get changed, I'll be right there."

I nod and take the few extra steps to my room, opening the door and closing it again behind me. I walk to the backpack that I brought from home, to the left of the king sized bed and open it, removing the storybook and my pajamas. Apparently, I hadn't brought any pairs of underwear besides the single pair that lies in my laundry bag; I shouldn't need them anyway. 

I pull on the soft, cotton pajama pants that I love, snapping on the waistband and am just about to put on my tank top when Weiss comes into the room, locking the door behind her.

"Don't bother Ruby," she says and again, I find myself absolutely speechless; Weiss wears an incredible lacy white bra that accents the shape of her chest. Beneath the waist, she wears a sheer, tiny scrap of fabric that barely covers the interesting parts. My heart is completely in my throat at this point as she comes onto me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pushing her lips into mine. She's never kissed me this aggressively, but I don't mind, and instead respond by matching her passion.

I move her arms from my neck to my back and continue our make out session, spreading my lips apart and letting her into my mouth. She delicately moves her tongue, feeling for mine and pushes against it softly, keeping it where it is.

No fair. If that's the game that she wants to play, well then I can do that too.

I reach behind me and place my left hand over hers, sliding it down to my butt. She looks at me surprised, feeling the lack of panty lines there and gently pushes me onto the bed. Biting her lip really sexily, she crawls towards me and throws her right leg over my waist, straddling it. Before doing anything, she stares into my eyes and I meet her cool gaze, speaking to her without talking. She knows what I want; what I've wanted.

"I'm going to take care of you first. Is that alright?" She asks finally, resting her hands on my bare chest.

"Of course," I reply with a lopsided grin; I would never say no to that.

"Let me know when I'm doing something well, I'm not exactly the most experienced girl in the world . . . at all."

Weiss isn't the only one with little to no experience. My only saving grace here is that Yang has accidentally left her porn lying around more times than I can count.

After about a minute of awkward staring at each other, Weiss makes a move and plants wet kisses along my collarbone and lower neck, working her way up to my left ear. I sigh as the cold air dances along when she moves her mouth, clutching the bed sheets around me and arch my back, trying to get closer to her. Moving to my ear, she nibbles on my earlobe and blows into it, sending a delicious shiver down my back. "Weiss . . ." I moan, fidgeting under her touch.

At my word, she stops and sits up, looking down at me. "What was that? Am I doing something wrong," She asks, placing her hands on her hips. The flustered frustration on her face makes me burst out laughing and she stares at me, looking kind of offended.

"No, Weiss. You're incredible," I reply, craning my neck to give her room to play.

She nods understandingly and gets back to work, this time deciding to work on the right side. Instead of kissing it, she nibbles on me gently, pulling on the skin and sucking it between her teeth. The sharp sudden feeling makes me laugh, though I don't know why I'm laughing.

I guess I'm happy.

Weiss dismounts me and looks into my eyes icily, trailing kisses down my right collarbone and between my breasts and stops moving to my left nipple. She flicks her tongue out and swirls around it before moving her whole mouth to it, nibbling gently on the sensitive button. Every move that she makes causes me to inhale sharply, releasing and taking hold of the soft blankets again.

After a few minutes focusing on my torment, she gets to her knees and looks into my eyes, "How am I doing?" She asks.

I can see a lack of confidence in her eyes and feel a conflicting mix of wanting to comfort her and the lust that I've been feeling all night. "Weiss look at me," I say breathlessly, gesturing weakly to my erect nipples and red face. "You're . . . incredible."

"You already said that, Ruby," she replies, smiling for the first time since we started.

"Sorry, I can't think right now," I breathe truthfully, causing her to chuckle. To be honest, this is everything that I expected, awkward staring aside.

"Well, then you won't need to. Just feel," she commands, reaching behind me and pulling my pajama pants off. The tone that she uses causes makes my button throb out of need.

When I lay naked in front of her, she stares at me before coming in for a kiss, biting my bottom lip. She pulls away and spreads my legs, kissing my right inner thigh. As she moves up my leg, I shiver in anticipation and try to push myself into her, but she placed herself in such a way that offers complete resistance against any moves that I try to place my button in her mouth. Just as she's about to get to it, she sits up and sticks her tongue out, pulling on something that I can't see.

"Sorry, I think I got one of my hairs in my mouth," she says, sputtering and feeling her tongue for it. Eventually, she gets it and moves back down, lying between my legs. "Are you ready?" She asks, her voice muffled by my thighs.

"Yes," I say, simply, closing my eyes and waiting for her touch. Suddenly, my whole body spasms as I feel her tongue brush up against my button. It's more intense than when I touch myself; I wasn't expecting that.

"Are you ok?" Weiss asks, every careful. I nod in response and use my hands to urge her down between my legs again. She rolls her eyes at me and goes down, licking on and around my sensitive nub.

I begin to moan, softly at first, but am unable to stop myself as Weiss continues her merciless onslaught. If this is her inexperienced, I don't know if I'll be able to take it when she learns. She sucks it between her teeth, and rolls it with her tongue, making me spasm hard. It gets really sensitive really quickly, but right before the pleasure is too much to handle, Weiss stops, allowing me a moment to take ragged breaths.

"Is it ok if I go inside of it now?" She asks, licking her lips. She really doesn't need to ask, everything that she's done has only made me need it more. Oh man do I need it.

I nod my head furiously and it seems like that's all that she wanted to see. Very gingerly, she spreads the flaps of skin protecting the entrance apart and licks around it, slowly at first, but eventually picking up speed. It's a slightly different feeling than before, but all the same makes me fidget in frustration. She tongues one of the flaps and nibbles on it, making me bite my lip hard.

"Weiss, stop teasing me," I gasp, trying to keep myself in control.

She obliges my wish and dives straight in, inserting her tongue into the pocket as she takes my right nipple between her thumb and forefinger. It feels very different from both feelings before, but I like it. I moan pleasurably and wind my fingers into her hair as she thrusts her tongue in and out. Yang always told me not to worry if I didn't bleed during my first time; she said that because of all the training that we did together as kids, I probably wouldn't. I'm glad that I hadn't; it would make this whole thing uncomfortable for Weiss, especially because the bed sheet is white.

As she picks up a rhythm, I clench my legs around her head, feeling a slow build-up within me. The rhythmic laps of her tongue make my legs shake as my body climbs higher and higher towards sweet release and I moan, loudly and uncontrollably. Weiss looks up at me, but continues, placing the final nail in the coffin as she thrusts her tongue deep inside. I have my first orgasm at her hands (actually her tongue), shuddering as I try to ride through it. I don't succeed and collapse around Weiss' head, feeling my insides clench and unclench.

My lover crawls to where I lay and throws her arms around me, sighing into my ear. I don't know how long we lay like that, but it's long enough for me to regain my strength. "Weiss, that was . . . incredible," I mumble. Really, Ruby? Incredible? Again?

Weiss chuckles to me, pressing her lips to mine and letting me taste myself on her tongue. It tastes kind of yogurt-y. "It wasn't charity, Ruby. I expect the exact same treatment," she responds, rolling away from me and lifting her legs, pulling her panties aside (if you could even call them that) and tosses them aside, looking at me with eyes filled with need, not lust.

A little bit too excitedly maybe, I leap onto her, kissing her up and down her body, trying to get to her exposed slit. She doesn't put up a fight and spreads her legs wide, showing me her beautiful, clean shaven peach. I do like peaches, I think as she spreads her lips aside. "Ruby, could you lick my clit?" She asks, rubbing the skin around her hole.

Although I have no problem obliging her, I feel that I should tease her and make her feel the same kind of agony that I did.

I lick the inside of her thigh, trailing towards her exposed button and just before I get to it, I switch my focus attacking her other thigh instead. I do the exact same thing, but pepper it with small nibbles moving around, but not going towards the sensitive part. When I finally do touch it, rolling it gently between my thumb and forefinger, I move my mouth to her neck, biting down on her neck softly and sucking on it. Feeling her convulse around me, I smile and kiss her ear, nibbling on her earlobe as she had mine.

She exhales shakily, throwing her right arm around my neck and scratching down my back. The sudden, sharp pain makes me stop what I'm doing, but not because of the pain; it's weird, the pain feels somehow pleasurable. I kiss her, prodding her teeth with my tongue until she lets me into her mouth. Trying to be sexy and take advantage of the opportunity, I shove my forefinger past hers into her hole and push, feeling something give away. She clenches her entire body and I stop, pulling my finger away. "Ow, Ruby could you slow it down. Please," she gasps.

Ok, maybe I was a _little_ bit too sudden with that.

"I'm sorry," I apologize, sliding the finger back inside, feeling the soft ridges of her pocket.

She smiles at me reassuringly and I move my head down between her legs, flicking her button back and forth between my tongue and my teeth. She moans softly, thrusting her hips against my finger and I suck hard, causing her to clench. What was it that Yang told me? Scratching upwards? I slide my middle finger into her wet hole and she gasps, sliding my fingers deeper inside her.

"Ruby. . ." she moans, inhaling sharply as I begin to scratch at the rougher skin in her ceiling. It looks like she's enjoying it. I stop licking her down there and move, pushing up her bra and taking one of her beautiful, pink nipples into my mouth. I move my fingers rhythmically and pull as I scratch, making her whimper in delight. Her skin swells around my fingers and she tries to say something, but can't make a single word.

Perfect, it looks like I'm doing a good job.

"Ruby, I'm close," she finally whispers biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. I feel pressure build up over my fingers and I pull them out. Weiss thrusts her hips after my fingers and a spray of clear liquid hits me.

_What was that? _"Weiss, did you just pee on me?" I ask, frantically wiping my chest. That's really gross, I'm glad that I got Weiss to finish and all, but. . .

"I don't know, that's never happened before. I've never had sex before. I'm sorry," Weiss exclaims, equally frantically. As she finishes the sentence, another small squirt of liquid comes out and we both freeze, looking at the growing wet spot on the bed.

"Calm down, it's ok, I still have that towel from before," I announce, snapping my fingers. I walk across the room to the pile of clothes that I made and take the towel, wiping myself down. Then I climb on the bed and blot at Weiss between her legs before placing the towel on the spot. "Are you good, Weiss?" I ask, feeling calmer at this point.

"Yes, I'm alright, thank you, Ruby," Weiss says, climbing beneath the covers on the other side of the bed and I follow, climbing in beside her and draping my right leg over hers.

"You're welcome, Weiss, anytime," I reply, smiling at her.

After that, we lie together and eventually, I hear her breathing even out and decide to try to sleep as well. I hug her tightly and breathe in her scent, feeling my mind drift off into nothingness.

(line)

When I wake up, I notice Weiss standing, clothed in a fluffy, white bathrobe at the window opposite the bed, hugging herself. I yawn and groggily roll over, stretching. Brr, it's cold. Where are my pants?

I find them, neatly folded on the edge of the bed and throw them on, taking the discarded tank top and pulling it over my head.

I walk over to Weiss and kiss her on the cheek, but she doesn't acknowledge me. I try something else, "Weiss, you were fantastic last night," I say, throwing my arms around her shoulders. I'm expecting a loving kiss from my wonderful, wonderful girlfriend, but she doesn't. Shrugging my arms off of her, she turns around and looks me dead in the eyes, speaking in a cold whisper.

"Ruby, could you leave me alone for a little bit? I need some space."


	15. Chapter 15: Old Wounds

**A/N Hey again, the story seems to be developing nicely. After that massive dropping of plot, I decided to give the girls a bit of time to relax, even if it's only for a little while. To anyone who's worried about whiterose, don't worry. Follow, favorite and review. Please review. Well, without further ado, enjoy! - Apollo**

**Blake**

"Ouch, watch it," I growl, grinding my teeth as Yang attempts to extract the bullet from my now inflamed arm. Would it kill her to be a little bit more careful? She had taken a pair of tweezers from the bathroom and sterilized it using her aura before poking around the wound. After an agonizing few minutes, she finds the bullet deep in my arm, but fortunately away from the bone, pulling it out.

The cold air raises goose bumps along my arms as it dances across my naked chest; Yang said that she needed me to take my top off to get to the bullet, but I know that what she really wanted was to see me topless. I did it anyway; I figured that it would motivate her to do a good job.

"You're lucky that this didn't shatter, I'd be pulling shrapnel out of your arm all night," she observes, inspecting the flattened piece of metal beneath the small lamp beside the bed where I sit. "Now for the really painful part," she declares, placing her hands over her mouth. "I didn't mean to say that," she grins softly at me as she takes the dark brown bottle of liquid out from beneath the wooden rocking chair that she sits on. "This is to minimize the chance of infec-" she begins, pointing at the bottle as though I were a child.

"I know what the bottle is for, Yang," I reply, cutting her off. "Just get it over with."

I do like having someone else to do this for me. When I ran with Adam and the White Fang, I had to apply my own disinfectants and dress my own wounds; he would never do that for me. I suppose that I shouldn't be so impatient with Yang right now, but the incessant throbbing of this wound is killing me. Yang murmurs something under her breath that I can't hear, although I can make out the word 'feisty.' She uncaps the bottle and gently lays me down on the bed, filling it with the liquid. Without delay, she pours it into the wound and immediately, it begins to burn painfully. I stare at it as it bubbles, unable to take my eyes away from it until the sharp burning fades, a dull ache replacing it.

Yang goes into the closet near the door and finds a baby blue towel, "Don't tell Weiss," she whispers, tearing a long strip off of it. Leave it to Yang to violate Weiss' things for my sake, I think fondly as she saunters over to me, crawling onto the bed and tying the strip of fabric over the wound.

"Now how about my reward?" She asks, puckering her lips as I push myself into a sitting position. I roll my eyes at my lover and oblige, cupping her face with my left hand and kissing her fully, making sure to use my tongue as well. When we break apart for air, she looks at me accusingly. "That's not fair, I know that _you're_ not in the mood tonight, but did you have to make _me_ horny?" She questions.

"Yang, my love, if you can help me heal this wound using your aura, I promise to have sex with you tomorrow morning," I deadpan, getting up and stretching my arms. "Now get over here and help me put on my pajamas," I say, bending over and taking my black yukata out of the duffle bag that I brought.

Uncharacteristically gently, Yang helps me out of my tights and into the yukata, carefully avoiding my shoulder injury. Once I'm comfortably dressed, she helps me under the massive comforter and tosses the jacket that she wears aside, revealing her tank top. Then she gives her shorts a similar treatment, revealing a pair of simple lavender panties that I've seen many times before. After turning down the lights, she climbs into bed, lying on her right shoulder, and pulls the blanket over our heads, the leftover light in my eyes giving me perfect vision of the bombshell before me.

"Alright, I'm ready to help you heal your arm, Kitty cat," she whispers, looking lovingly into my eyes. I ignore her quip and give her a quick peck on her eyelid, making her smile widely.

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and focus my aura, spreading it out from my center. The energy pools in my chest and I gingerly goad as much of it as I can towards my bullet hole, feeling the warm tingle that lets me know that it's working. Yang takes ahold of my right hand with her left and inhales as well. I try to feel for her aura using my own surrounding the wound, but I don't need to; I can feel the fiery tendrils of her own snaking around my arm towards her target. As our auras interlock, they fight for dominance, each threatening to overtake the other before settling into a stable equilibrium; her heat matches my shadow. The warm tingling increases in intensity, becoming a full on burn, although this doesn't hurt or bother me; I know that the healing is working. Eventually, it begins to subside, leaving me with only the residual warmth from her aura's work.

Moving my hand around beneath the blue fabric, I feel new, tender skin that's stretched across the no longer existent wound and smile exhaustedly; I am never going to be able to get used to the rapid expenditure of energy necessary for healing injuries. I kiss my golden lover on the lips, showing my gratitude for her help without words. She kisses back, telling me that she appreciates my gratitude and I wrap my arms around her neck, with my newly repaired shoulder working well that is, and hold her like that, staring into her lilac eyes with my own.

"Good night, Yang. I'm absolutely exhausted," I announce, yawning mightily. "You should get some rest too; you'll need it for tomorrow." I wink at her although she can't see it and close my eyes.

Abruptly, I feel the heat coming off of Yang intensify and then relax, settling on a stable amount of heat. "I'm not tired yet, I'll keep this up until you go to sleep," she replies, smiling at me sleepily.

I know that she's lying; that she's just as tired as I am, but that's Yang Xiao Long for you, always putting me first. I swear, this woman is going to get herself killed like that one day, but I'll do everything in my power to stop that.

Our beautiful moment together is suddenly interrupted by a long, shrill moan coming from the room three doors over. Yang and I freeze, looking into each other's eyes before bursting out into nearly synchronized laughter. It looks like Ruby and Weiss have finally gotten in bed together. I hope that Weiss can control that little whirlwind; I've seen her impulse control when it comes to Sweets and Weiss.

"Should I maybe turn on some music?" Yang asks, pulling away from me slightly. In response, I tighten my grip around her neck, moving my head in for another soft kiss; I don't want my mobile heater to walk away; not now when I'm comfortable. "Ok, it looks like I'm staying . . . and we're going to hear Ruby and Weiss going at it all night."

"We won't have to if you go to sleep, sweetheart," I reply, snuggling into her chest. She seems to appreciate the sentiment and relaxes in my arms, nuzzling into me. In turn, I'm able to relax my grip and do, breathing in her mixed aroma as I drift off to sleep. She smells of gunpowder, of lavender, of love.

* * *

A sudden rapping at the door shakes me out of the warmth of slumber, my ears twitch at the soft noises. My blonde lies beside me completely passed out and, based on her sleep patterns, I know that she won't be up no matter what I do until after nine. Judging by the color of the light streaming through the window, I conclude that it's probably about eight. The rapping comes again, more impatiently, if that's even possible.

Groggily opening the door, I am greeted by a bathrobed Weiss, looking even more dour than usual. "Blake, can I talk to you?" She asks, rubbing her arm and not meeting my gaze. How bizarre; the Weiss Schnee that I know always looks people in the eye when she addresses them. Sensing that what is wrong and can't be fixed quickly; I walk out and close the door gently behind me.

"Of course," I reply, smiling at my teammate as I rub the sleep out of my eyes.

She leads me into the parlor and I sit down on the couch. She sits beside me and points to the table where a set of teacups and a teapot stand. "I took the personal liberty of . . . oh never mind," Weiss sighs, pouring me and herself a cup. I blow on it, letting the steam warm my face and take a tentative sip, recoiling in surprise when I realize that it's my favorite blend. How did Weiss know? "Yang," she says simply, taking a sip before placing it down on the table and holding her head in her hands.

The R W and Y of team RWBY seem to always come to me with their problems. I think that I understand why now; Obviously, Yang comes to me no matter what, but team Iceflower only ever comes to me for relationship advice; they view me as an impartial outsider, unlike Yang. I believe this to be the root of our early morning meeting.

"So, Weiss, what's on your mind?" I ask, holding the cup near my face and savoring the floral smell of the concoction in my hands.

"I feel terrible," she begins, looking up and brushing her ivory hair out of her eyes.

"Really? It sounded like you were having a great time last night," I reply, raising my eyebrow at my sullen teammate. "It isn't uncommon to feel bad after your first time though, when I first di-"

"That's not what I mean, Blake. I couldn't help it, I was so . . . _frustrated,_ and I just lost myself," she says, cutting me off.

She puts her face back into her hands and I see her visibly shuddering. Is she crying? I don't think I've ever seen that, not even during or after that big fight we had in our freshman year. From what I thought I understood, Weiss turns her sorrow into cold anger.

This must be really serious.

Placing my teacup on the table, I pull the smaller girl into a hug and give her access to my shoulder, which she readily accepts.

"Blake," she whispers, her light voice trembling under the sudden emotional weight. "I took advantage of Ruby."

Wait, hold on. Did I hear that correctly? "Weiss . . . you wouldn't have done that, I know you," I say, pulling away and gripping both of her shoulders. "You care too much about that girl to do that. Besides, she's wanted that for at least the past couple of months; she told me herself."

"Regardless, I didn't think it through all the way. I let my emotions make my decisions instead of my brain and look what happened. _I could have hurt her_, Blake."

"Weiss, look at me," I order, tilting her chin up. That might have been a slight overstepping of my boundaries, but I need to be assertive with her right now, for Ruby and Yang's sake at least. "You cannot lose it because of the chance that you _might_ have done something. Think about what you _will_ do instead. If you're that worried about this, just talk to your girlfriend. _She _deserves it more than anyone else."

With that, I get up, drinking the last of the tea in my cup. There's no more that I can say to her; she needs to make her own choices about this. I know that she wouldn't do that to Ruby, and deep inside, I know that she knows it as well. It's up to her to realize that.

I make my way back into the darkened room and see my girlfriend, lying on her stomach. I crawl back beneath the covers, basking in the warmth of her body and of course, her smell. With the sun nearly rising, it doesn't take long before her steady breathing stops abruptly and she rolls onto her side, staring sluggishly at me and opening her arms with a heart melting smile.

"Good morning, Yang," I welcome, wiggling into her now outstretched arms. She yawns in response and I smile back at her, moving my right arm down between her legs; I made a promise to her last night and I always keep my promises. I feel for the outline of her slit and slide my finger up it, stopping on her clit. I repeat the motion twice more and by the time I've finished the third one, my finger comes away slick with her arousal.

"Wait," Yang instructs, squeezing her thighs together. "As much as I want this right now, I have something else that I need to do. Stay right here."

She rolls out of bed and walks to our travel bag that lies beside the door. She pulls out a pair of boy shorts and puts them on, snapping the waistband around her well defined curve. With a quick smile at me, she opens the door and steps outside. "I'll be right back," she says, disappearing out the door.

I wonder what that girl is up to.

* * *

**A/N Some strange development with Weiss, am I right? It's a good thing that Blake was there for her. And what could Yang be doing? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball . . . never mind. Anyway, leave me feedback. I appreciate it- Apollo**


	16. Chapter 16: Bittersweet Part Two

**A/N Hey all, just polling, but if I were to write a similarly structured story detailing Freezerburn and Ladybug while writing this one, would anyone be interested? PM me or something if you are.** **Also, note that this takes place chronologically after the last chapter. **

**I decided not to write the scene that I was planning to as it isn't big enough to be a chapter of the story. However, I **_**am**_** planning on writing it as a one shot in my collection, "A Compendium of RWBY" Anyway the pacing is about to pick up very quickly. Enjoy!**

**As always, please leave reviews; I want some feedback because it's you guys that keep this thing going - Apollo**

**Also also, I'll be taking requests in my PM every tuesday or so for a weekly one shot!**

* * *

**Ruby**

What did she just say? I think, feeling my heart sink. Leave her alone? How could I? I love her. I recoil and take a step back, not understanding. Was it something that I did last night? Was it something that I said?

"Weiss, what is it?" I start, reaching towards her and brushing her hair out of her face.

"Ruby, I can't even bring myself to look at you," she responds, slapping my hand away and hugging her arms around herself. Panic begins to set in next to my sunken heart. _What did I do?_ Ok, calm down Ruby; you don't want to waste the after sex aura spike on keeping your emotions stable.

"Tell me what's wrong," I plead, watching how close I get to my Princess. There's obviously something bothering her and based on her body language, it's been bothering her for a while. She looks down and away, as if she's trying to shield herself from _me_.

Was last night that bad for her?

"Ruby . . . was last night . . . satisfactory?" She asks, sighing to herself. "That isn't what I meant."

"Then what do you mean, Weiss?" I ask, curiously. I love her so much; I wanted to tell her this morning, but she's being all cold and distant and it just wouldn't come across the way that I want it to.

"Did you want _it_ as badly as I did? Did I overstep any boundaries?" She walks to the window and stares outside into the snowy, mountainous landscape of Atlas.

"Uh . . . Weiss? What are you talking about?" I respond, stepping closer to my (new) lover and looking outside with her.

"I knew it . . . I _did_ take advantage of you," she turns away from me, but I notice that her fists are clenched at her side as she shudders.

What? Weiss crying? Take advantage of me? What?

"Whoa whoa, of course I wanted it Weiss. Why did I step into that shower? Why didn't I wear panties? Why didn't I stop you from doing it? What other explanation is there?" I say, my voice almost turning into a shout. She can't just shut down on me, it wouldn't be fair. Anyway, we should be cuddling right now and I'm determined to lead us to that. "Come here, princess," I beg, wrapping my arms around her neck.

Very slowly, her fists unclench and she turns her body. She lightly places her hands on my hips and looks up into my eyes. Silent tears roll down her cheeks and I kiss her eyes, trying to show her my love in the easiest and most sure way that I can. Weiss smiles at me through her tears and

I gently pull her into a hug resting her head on my shoulder and kissing the side of her neck slowly and soothingly. Soon, she moves her hands from my hips to my back and holds me tightly like I might disappear if she lets go.

I can feel my lungs being crushed. "Weiss . . . can't . . . breathe," I gasp.

She releases her grip a little bit and shrugs, still smiling at me. "I'm sorry," she sniffles, dabbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her bathrobe.

"It's ok, Weiss. I'm here for you and I always will be. I promised once, didn't I?" I reply, scooping her into my arms. She's surprisingly light, actually, I guess it isn't all that surprising; she barely eats unless I'm eating.

"Ruby!" She gasps, flailing her arms until they find my neck. "What are you doing?"

"Well, Weiss, you owe me some snuggling. You fell asleep almost immediately after we finished," I answer, bridal carrying her to the bed and laying her down, carefully avoiding the spot that was wet last night.

Once we're nice and comfortable underneath the covers, I smile; looking into her glacial eyes and kiss her softly, reassuringly, lovingly. And she kisses back, matching my gentleness, but beating down my control. Before I can put my tongue into her mouth, she pulls away; biting her lower lip and making it bleed again.

"Weiss, your lip," I observe, thinking back to the time when Yang landed on me, nearly breaking my jaw. I smile, remembering the words that Weiss spoke then. "I think that I might be able to fix your face," I mimic, using the same tone that she used on me back then. She blushes at that, looking into my eyes defiantly.

Closing my eyes, I focus my extra aura on my lips and move my head in, kissing her and letting it transfer to her naturally. She probably used a lot of hers worrying about me this morning, so it comes easily. I feel it moving from me to her, leaving my lips colder than they were. As I draw back, I can see the torn flesh closing up on Weiss' lip, the wine red color fading away until it's replaced by her usual shade of pink.

"There. Do you want to try it out?" I ask, a sly grin spreading across my face. Nice one Ruby, that was really really smooth.

She doesn't respond, not verbally anyway and pulls my head closer to hers, stopping before our lips meet. "I love you," she whispers, pressing her lips to mine passionately. As we do, I feel her relax and she sighs into my mouth, nestling closer and closer to me.

When we finally break apart for air, our legs are intertwined and I have my arm in a weird position underneath her back. "No fair, that was my line," I pout looking into her eyes with obvious desire. I need to keep myself under control; when we get back to Beacon, we're never going to get anything done otherwise. "I love you too."

Giving me a satisfied smile, she stares at me caressing my arm softly. Her touch raises goosebumps on my arm and I shudder, feeling a slight tingle between my legs.

"So. . ." I begin, trying to distract myself to keep from attacking her. "What's on your mind? Why are you so wound up right now?"

"Honestly. . . I'm scared. I've never liked not knowing what comes next, with you, with the company. . . And to top it all off, it seems like there's something dangerous going on here surrounding my family. Last night I just needed to, well, relieve myself and I was afraid that I did so at your expense. I'm sorry, Ruby. I-"

"No. You don't get to apologize; you didn't do anything wrong . . . except for one thing," I say, giving my best pretend angry face.

"What did I do?" Weiss asks, concern blanketing her face. She looks completely worried and I almost falter, but if I did, this wouldn't be worth it.

"Weiss Schnee! Do you know how _long_ I've been trying to get you in bed for?" I ask, a smile forming on my face.

She makes a noise of disgust and kisses me hard. "Dolt," she scolds, kissing me and putting a little bit of tongue in.

As we start to get heavier, she becomes bolder, tearing off my tank top to cup one of my boobs, but moving away when I try to touch hers. Instead, I reach down between her thighs and am in the process of rubbing her button when the door slams open.

"Rise and shine! Breakfast time!" Yang yells, causing me to leap out of the bed. "Come on, the best thing after a long night is a good breakfast," she says with a wink, leaving the room hurriedly.

Weiss peeks over the edge of the blanket, staring at me awkwardly. "We should probably get dressed."

I agree and pull on my tank top, taking Weiss' hand in my own and walking out the door to the inviting smell of a home cooked breakfast.

* * *

"It sounded like you two had a . . . productive evening," Blake notes, taking a long sip from a cup of tea.

Weiss blushes, looking down and taking my hand. Breakfast was pretty good, Yang actually managed to keep the shells out of the omelette this time.

"Yeah, it sounded sex-cellent," Yang deadpans, finishing the last of her coffee.

We utter a collective groan, at least Weiss and I do. Blake throws her arms around Yang and kisses her on the cheek, smiling at her. They're so good together, it makes me happy for Yang; their relationship has already lasted a record six months and I doubt that they're going to slow down anytime soon. Love sure is great.

"Hey, what did you two end up finding out last night?" I ask, trying to steer the conversation away from our sex life.

"Nice try, sis. Was it Weiss that moaned for a minute straight?" Yang replies, a self-satisfied smile on her face.

"Yang Xiao Long! How dare you!" Weiss yells, standing up with her fists at her sides. Because of her height, she was more intimidating sitting on the stool beside me. Yang raises her arms defensively and bursts out laughing as Blake rolls her eyes at her.

"To answer your question, Ruby, we found out that approximately two months ago, a Schnee Dust refinery near the Atlesian Mountains went up in flames. Not only that, but there's a rumor that it was just a front for a military laboratory," Blake mentions, getting up from the parlor's couch and stretching her arms and legs.

"Wait a second, two months ago? That's when my father and sister left for Mistral to build a new Dust refinery. Could the two events be connected?" Weiss asks, scowling in that adorable way that she does.

"I don't think we should discount anything yet. Why don't we all head into the city again tonight to dig up some more information?" Yang replies. The smile falls from her face, a serious look replacing it. It looks like I'm not the only one that's worried about Weiss' safety.

With that, we decide to group up tonight and go into the city together, but I have my own plans. Weiss is in danger, and that isn't something to take lightly. The danger isn't as obvious as Torchwick was during our first year at Beacon, but it's still there. I walk into my room and find my combat skirt, neatly pressed on the bed, which has completely fresh, white bed sheets on it. I step into it and lace the corset up to my chest, fastening my cloak to the lapels. I may not like dressing up like a dancey pancy girl, but I do like the way that the corset makes me look, really really cool that is.

I slide down three floors of bannisters until I reach the "small" sitting room next to the dining room. Inside, Weiss' butler, Anstett sits, massaging his handlebar mustache while looking into a mirror. As I approach, he quickly drops the mirror onto the armchair that he sat in and stands at attention.

"Miss Rose, or should I already call you Miss Schnee?" He asks, a knowing smile ghosting across his face. What is it with everyone calling Weiss and I out today? I stand opening and closing my mouth like a fish, unable to respond. When I finally manage to choke out a word, he puts his right hand up and behind his back. "My apologies Miss Rose, it was merely a jest. What can I help you with?"

"You can just call me Ruby and, uh, we got word from Mister Schnee in Mistral and he asked us to investigate . . . a few things for him. The first thing on our list is to check out the mountain range; something about the amount of dust per square unit of land or something. We would all go together, but it isn't worth the effort. We decided that I should be the one to go, being the leader that is" I lie, giving my most earnest look. Of course my team doesn't know a thing about this. They want to go into the city, but my princess is in danger. I'm going to go after the real threat and investigate the dust refinery. There shouldn't be any trouble since, according to Blake; it was abandoned after the explosion.

"Of course, Miss Rose. I shall prepare a car," Anstett replies, ignoring my wish to be called Ruby and bowing stiffly before exiting the room. I hear the front door open and feel a sudden rush of cold air accompanied by the soft pitter patter of raindrops hitting stone.

It's a good thing that I have my hood.

The car ride started out extremely awkwardly; Anstett opened the door to the small black car letting me into it before walking around it and taking his spot at the driver's seat. We leave the Schnee estate quickly and quietly. I'll be back before any of them notice that I'm gone.

Mumbling that to myself a few times seems to catch Anstett's attention and he looks into the rear view mirror, clearing his throat. "Miss Rose, to alleviate the awkward demeanor that you've been wearing all afternoon, I hope that I might start some casual conversation."

Sheesh, now I know where Weiss got that stuffy attitude from. That's alright though; it's cute on her.

"What do you want to know?" I respond, crossing my legs and placing my hands in my lap; that's how Weiss would sit if she were in this type of situation and I figure that I should make a good impression if I'm going to marry her eventually. If there's one thing that I learned from my father that I couldn't learn from Yang, it's that I should date for marriage, not for fun.

"Oh please, you need not be so formal with me. Any lover of Miss Schnee is a friend of mine," he says graciously, smiling at me. "Anyhow, for what amount of time have you and my charge been an item?" He turns his eyes back on the road and makes a turn off into the small narrow road leading to the base of the mountain. I can see the ruins of the refinery from here.

Perfect.

I count the months on my fingers, trying to remember how long Weiss and I have been together. I don't actually have to do this, but I don't want to seem too clingy. "Almost four months," I reply, not giving him the exact date, which I know to be three months and twenty seven days.

"From what I can tell, you take good care of her. I don't think that I've ever seen her this happy ever since she initially perfected her use of Glyphs. I wish you two the happiest of lives; she deserves it."

I don't have a response and nod awkwardly, staring out the window that at this point is completely blocked by water. However, on the inside, I'm screaming; I have approval from someone close to Weiss. It isn't her father, but it's a start.

"Miss Rose?" He asks, breaking my out of my internal celebration. "We've arrived at the refinery. Shall I hold an umbrella for you?" He asks, placing his hand on the door handle, ready to go.

What would Weiss say? "That won't be necessary; I would appreciate it if you kept the car running though."

Nailed it.

I pull my hood up and step out of the car and am immediately pelted with icy, freezing, rain. Luckily, my hood keeps me nice and dry. I look up at the gigantic mountain towering over me and stare to my right at the burnt out remains of the refinery. I can tell that it _was_ the refinery by the Schnee Dust company logo that is visibly engraved into the cliff face that it hangs over. It looks like it's on the - what's the word? Precipice? That sounds right; it sits on the precipice of another cliff, attaching itself to the base of the mountain that I can see. It looks like they mined dust straight out of the mountain and refined it on the spot. I can see why that would be dangerous; black dust and burn dust, in the right combination, can create a deadly firebomb that someone with the right semblance could control. My guess is that they didn't have anyone with that type of power there. Hm.

I walk towards it, being careful where I step as the path narrows. To my left and right are thick bushes and trees. The ruins of the refinery still towers overhead and I realize how large it actually is. As I approach it, I notice a small red sliver on the ground. Picking it up, I realize that it's a piece of burn dust. Maybe my guess on this place wasn't too far off after all. I stow it in my pocket and walk forward, stepping over what used to be a large metal doorway and into the main room.

All around me, the metal support creaks and groans, threatening to collapse beneath the weight of the rain. Water runs off of the caved in roof, pooling in a weirdly raised portion of ground in the back of the refinery, where the mountain meets the wall. I hop across the debris covered floor and make my way there, careful not to move anything that I don't have to; I wouldn't want the place to fall down with me inside. When I reach the pool of water, I notice a rusted hatch, outlined against the perfectly fine steel floor.

That's weird.

Suddenly, I hear a loud crack and spin around just in time to see a fist crashing into my nose. I turn slightly to the left, trying to avoid it, but instead find a knee with my abdomen. I fall back into the small pool of water. The wind gets immediately knocked out of me and lay still with my eyes barely open, pretending to be unconscious. Hopefully, my attacker buys it and leaves me.

Before I can even finish the thought, a black booted foot appears in my field of view and slams down, slamming into my face hard enough to knock me out.

I guess I was wrong.

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**A/N Now isn't that a thing. Team Whiterose just resolved their problem too. Well, let's see how long it takes the rest of the team to notice that she's gone, yeah? As always, leave me a review, leave a favorite, follow, tell your friends, the whole shebang. Thanks a lot for your continued support.**


	17. Chapter 17: Red Like Roses

**A/N Hi everyone sorry for the nearly two week break. Midterms and the like restricted my time. This is the last chapter in the story arc. But, you can rest assured. Another story arc is approaching soon enough, continuing where this one leaves off. Review, favorite, follow and whatever else you want.**

**Feedback would really really be appreciated - Apollo**

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**Weiss**

Walking back to my room, I hear the frantic pitter patter that tells me that Ruby is running wild through the house. I knew that I shouldn't have let her drink that whole cup of coffee at breakfast. That girlfriend of mine cannot handle it at all. I stop short, with my hand on the knob of my door; a sudden burst of happiness permeating my whole body as I blush to myself. Ruby is mine and mine alone. Furthermore, she's willing to overlook all of my flaws and love me for who I am not what I have. In short, she's perfect and I don't know if I'll ever be able to show her how much that means to me. However, that doesn't mean that I'm not going to try.

I step over the threshold into my room and sit down at the top right corner of my bed near the headboard. To my right is a vanity cabinet with a mirror built directly into the wooden frame. I stand in front of it and look at myself, noticing my slightly swollen eyes and messy hair.

Ugh.

I would have never let this happen back at Beacon, or even before I met Ruby for that matter. I let my guard down around her way too easily and despite her being two years younger than me, that girl has taught me more than I would have ever been able to figure out on my own. She's taught me that it doesn't matter what other people think of me, but has never forcefully imposed it onto me, instead telling me that I'm beautiful even when I feel as badly as I did this morning.

Very hastily, I run a brush through my hair, straightening any tangles before opening the drawer to my bottom left and pulling out a small wooden box with the Schnee family emblem carved into the top of it. Carefully lifting the top off of it reveals an assortment of different pieces of jewelry, their red velvet beds in varied states of wear and tear dependent on the amount of times that I've worn each piece. Only one bed shows no sign of erosion. I lift the piece by its silver chain, holding the charm at eye level. It's an exact replica of the necklace that I wear to compliment my pronounced collarbones. I had it made when I received this one in the event that I lost the former. Obviously, that was never going to happen so I've had it here ever since.

I unlatch the one around my neck and fasten the new one in its stead, tossing my hair over the chain and holding my hand against my chest. Looking down into my hand, I smile at the necklace and gently place it in the bed of the original.

Quickly stripping out of my bathrobe, I dress myself in my normal skirt - I had Anstett clean and press it of course - and take a fresh bolero out of my closet, pushing aside the lingerie that I have hanging beside it. I blush hard when I realize that Anstett must have washed these too.

Weiss, you need to be more careful of where you lay your . . . unmentionables. I scold myself, threading my arms through the frill, white sleeves.

Having done that, I walk back to my vanity cabinet and take my old necklace, gingerly placing it in my pocket before exiting my room in an uncharacteristically excited manner. I knock on Ruby's door three times, bracing myself for my affectionate girlfriend to burst through the door and tackle me into a hug. Seconds turn into minutes and I turn the doorknob to open the door; it shouldn't be taking her this long to let me in.

"Ruby? I'm coming in. Are you decent?" I ask, looking down at the floor as I step into the room. When I get no response, I look up and see that Ruby's clothes, besides her combat skirt, are untouched and lie in neat piles. She's not here, which would explain the lack of response. Perhaps Blake and Yang know where she is.

I walk out of the room, shutting the door as I step into the hallway and make my way to their room. Knocking on their door three times, I hear a quick rustling of fabric before the door swings open. Blake lays in the king sized bed in the middle of the room with the covers up to her face. Beside her, Yang lounges with her hands behind her head, smiling at me confidently. It takes me less than a second to realize why; her chest is naked, exposing her breasts to my sight. I shriek in surprise, bringing my hand up to my eyes and feel heat rise to my cheeks. The sound of a fist hitting flesh sounds and is followed by a sharp 'ouch' from Yang.

"Cover up," Blake commands, her voice stern, yet playful. "Sorry about my _partner_, Weiss. What do you need?"

I almost forget the reason that I came here, the traumatic sight of a naked, sex-fueled Yang burned into my retinas. However, the cold, metal chain around my neck gives me a quick reminder. "Have either of you seen Ruby?"

"Weiss, does it look like we've seen anything other than the insides of each other since breakfast?" Yang asks, receiving another swift jab from Blake. She's obviously doing this to make me uncomfortable.

Well two can play at that game.

"Yang, your sister was _incredible_ in bed, did you know that she can bend he-" I begin, clapping my hands together,

"Lalalalalalala I can't hear you," she interjects, cutting me off.

It looks like I won that round.

"We haven't seen her," Blake says, barely audibly over the loud noises that Yang makes.

I decide that it's probably a good idea to leave and nod my reply, backing out of the room and shutting the door behind me. I step down the stairs and enter the sitting room. To my surprise, Anstett isn't sitting in his customary armchair. That counts out asking him.

Suddenly, an idea dawns on me; Beacon provided us with scrolls for a reason. I pull mine out of the holster that hangs on the back of my sash and swipe through the contact pictures in my list until Ruby's goofy, smiling face stares back at me. The picture isn't the same one that she gives to other students; I took it during our fourth date, wanting something more personal and managed to sneak a picture of her when she was ranting about the versatility of her Crescent Rose in comparison to the shotgun scythes that apparently flood the market. She's adorable when she's passionate about something.

I tap the call icon on my screen and bring the scroll up to my ear, listening to it ring. It goes once, twice and in the middle of its third ring it cuts off and goes directly to voicemail. "Hey there, this is Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY. Leave me a message and I'll get right back to you, thanks!" she says enthusiastically; I can almost_ hear_ her smile through the phone if that were possible.

Ruby never misses a call from me, she probably accidentally hit the reject icon, that's all. I call her again, bringing the scroll to my ear. This time, the phone cuts off before it can get through its first ring.

Now I'm slightly worried.

I'm about to run straight back up the stairs and brave the sight of Yang's bare breasts again when my scroll vibrates twice in rapid succession. Ruby sent me two messages. I open them, expecting a long apology as to why she couldn't answer the phone, but that's not it at all.

_You know where this is. Come alone if you want to see the girl again_. I place my hand to my mouth as I read, complete and utter panic setting in.

The second message is a video. The thumbnail is of low quality, but I can make out the remains of a building strewn with debris. I click on it, shaking where I stand and watch the screen with bated breath, anxious and scared as it loads. That was an obvious threat which means that this video is most likely going to give me a location. Finally, after what feels like an hour, the screen goes to full and I an image pops up. As it scans around I can make out the same decrepit building. Tactically, whoever is moving the camera stops and focuses on an image carved into the wall.

It's the Schnee family crest.

Then the camera pans over to a small enclosed area on the opposite end of the room, inside it I can see an unmoving, red lump that I can immediately tell to be my Ruby. I throw my arm out and grab the side of the bannister, using its wooden support to steady myself. The camera moves forward and Ruby comes into view. A gloved arm pulls her head up by the hood and holds her there, giving me a long view. Her eyes are closed and a steady stream of blood flows out of her almost certainly broken nose, dripping to the ground in a sickening tempo. Her upper lip is torn, and her hair is disheveled giving an overall ragged appearance. I fall down to the foot of the stairs, a feeling of despair sinking down into my stomach. Before the video cuts off, an unnerving, pitiless laugh cuts through the air. The sound is like metal grating on shale and I shudder, unbidden tears pooling in the corner of my eyes.

No. I refuse to let my emotions cloud my head again. With every ounce of skill and training that has been poured into me, I'm going to save Ruby. We just confessed our loves to each other and I'm not and will probably never be ready to lose her.

I know exactly where she is too. The emblem carved into the wall was the trademark of the dust refineries that my father set up all along the spine of the Atlesian mountains. And, based on the wreckage that cluttered the ground, this one has to be out of use. The only one that fits that bill would be the one right at the base of the mountain, overlooking the drop off into the conifer woods at the bottom of a gravity defying plateau.

The attached message said to come alone. This must be the reason that Ironwood wanted us to leave Atlas; it must also be the same reason that my father and Winter are still in Mistral. I wrestle with the idea of going back upstairs and telling Yang and Blake, but it's too risky. If this kidnapper knows about my relation to Ruby, then he probably also knows about my other teammates.

I ghost up the stairs and into my room, making as little noise as possible to keep from disturbing Blake and Yang. In its simple glass case against the left side of the wall is Myrtenaster. It's been some time since it has last seen real combat. However, if I can handle this correctly, I shouldn't need to fight at all. Just to be safe, I load the cylinder with fresh dust of the highest purity and spin it until I hear the telltale 'kachunk' of the mechanism locking.

Anstett is nowhere to be found so I don't have a ride, but it would probably be safer if I used a method of transportation that would keep anybody else out of this. I open the large bay window and frown, noticing the rain that falls from the sky. My current attire won't be adequate for this weather. Going back into my closet, I spot my hooded, white, fleece cloak with red trimmings and hold it up. Unlike Ruby's cloak, mine doesn't have clasps and I instead have to tie two strings together at my own neck. Pulling the hood over my head, I climb up and out the window staring at the mountain range that looms menacingly above the cloud cover and the city of Atlas. The Schnee estate stands three stories tall so the height should be efficient for a jump. Before I do, I unsheathe Myrtenaster, point it out in front of me towards the mountains and close my eyes, leaping off of the roof.

The cloak provides me with some air resistance as I fall and I watch the ground as it rushes to meet me. At the last possible second, I focus my aura and use my semblance, creating a white glyph where I'm anticipating to land. As my feet connect with the glyph, I lock it, feeling the tug of gravity pulling me down. The glyph turns black as the energy from my fall is absorbed into it, culminating in a slight repulsion at my feet.

I'm ready.

Taking a deep breath, I release my hold on the glyph and look up as it launches me up into the sky, forcing the air out of my lungs. As I reach the apex of my flight, I angle my body to give myself a forward trajectory.

My target is clear. I just hope that Ruby's alright.

I focus on the mountain range as I fall and create glyphs in a regular pattern, using them to propel myself through the rain and towards the mountain range. As I fly across the sky, I watch the citizens of Atlas going about their daily lives, unaware of anything other than themselves. The snow on the ground melts due to the rain and creates small streams that in turn melt more snow. This gives the ground leading up to the mountains a veined appearance as if the continent itself was alive. As the mountain gets closer, the paved stone roads of Atlas turn to mud, finally becoming obscured by dense foliage.

I land at the base of the first mountain, right in front of what looks like the building from the video. I dab the water from my face with the inside of my cloak before pulling my scroll out. The thumbnail of the video is almost identical to what I can see inside. Now that I'm sure that I'm in the right place, I place my scroll in the pocket of my bolero, readying my arm with Mrtenaster at chest level.

Water runs off of the damaged roof in rivulets, providing good audio cover. I glide forward, trying to keep the sound of my footfall quieter than the sound of the water. Other than that, everything seems too quiet. As I step over the threshold of the building, it erupts with a flurry of movement. Metal scrapes metal and a massive crash that sounds like a weapon firing comes from my right.

Unfortunately, my hood makes it impossible to see in my periphery and in the split second that I have to react, I name off possibilities. I know that the Grimm volume in this area is incredibly low so I cross that off the list. I also know that this place was supposedly abandoned by its proprietor, my father, so I cross people off the list as well. That doesn't leave me with much at all.

As though it were second nature, I bring Myrtenaster to the right side of my head and create a glyph, attempting to block whatever is trying to attack me. My heart beats quickly, the rush of adrenaline pumping through my body fueling my movement. When the attack never comes, I leap to the side looking at what happened. It was just a part of the roof coincidentally collapsing under the weight of the rain as soon as I entered the room. This causes me to laugh almost hysterically; I was startled by a piece of roof.

Suddenly, my laughter is cut short by an explosive crack coming from behind me. I whirl around and thrust Myrtenaster out, smirking as I feel it catch something. Myrtenaster can pierce nearly anything when I have my mind set on it.

"Oh? Feisty, aren't you little girl?" A harsh low voice growls. It comes from the man that I just stabbed. "Don't worry," he says, everything, but his pinprick eyes obscured by a headscarf, "I'm only just getting started."

With that, he pulls himself towards me, straight through the blade and stops right before me. He's at least six feet tall, almost a whole foot taller than me. I try to pull my weapon out of him, but he resists, cackling maniacally. I create a glyph between the two of us, preventing his progress towards me. I can't see his face, but I can feel the malice that oozes off of him. Another loud crack rings through the air and he disappears.

I lose focus on my glyph and panic, looking around. Staring at my blade, I notice that there's no blood on it. I must have missed his body and only caught armor or something. Steadying my breathing, I close my eyes and listen to the sounds around me; I won't be able to fight if I'm panicking. Getting this scar across my eye taught me that. Fighting on his ground isn't wise either; I need to somehow draw him out of hiding and into the open.

"If you give me Ruby now, I won't have to hurt you!" I yell a very obvious tremor in my voice. My challenge is met with a roar of laughter and the man materializes ten feet in front of me with Ruby bundled underneath his arms. He's clothed in an entirely grey cloak that makes him blend with environment easily.

"Do you really think that you're in a position to bargain with me, girl?" He tosses Ruby on the ground and she lands with a grunt of pain, curling up into ball. "I could kill her right now if I wanted to." As if to demonstrate the point, he holds his right arm out and clenches his fist, causing a knife to protrude from his forearm. He then grabs Ruby's head with his left hand and pulls her up, bringing the knife to her neck. "One little cut and she's through. If you want her so badly, why don't we make a little trade?"

Shaking with cold rage, I resist the temptation to dash forward and thrust Myrtenaster through _his_ neck. "What do you want?" I question, using all of my effort to keep my voice calm and collected. If my father taught me anything, it's that professionalism during a deal is everything.

"All that I seek is that which is mine by right: The life of a Schnee," he responds, callously throwing Ruby back to the ground.

Moving the headscarf away from his mouth, I can see charred, burnt skin stretching across his face. However, the thing that stands out the most is an emblem that clearly contrasts the his blackened face: a glowing Schnee Dust logo.

"How. . . Why do you have that?" I ask, holding Myrtenaster in the most threatening way possible.

"Normally I wouldn't monologue, but I have you beat. Are you aware of the existence of a girl named Penny?"

"Of course, the world's first synthetic person capable of producing an aura," I reply, taking a very small step forward.

"Is that what they told you? That she was the first? Of course they did; that scumbag general tried to kill me," he spits, clenching his fists and causing his forearm blades to retract and shoot out again.

It looks like he has a problem similar to Yang's. Once he gets angry, he loses all control.

"I don't understand," I state, trying to prolong this for as long as I possibly can. If Ruby can just get up, I can get the both of us out of here.

"Then you're as stupid as they are. Penny wasn't the first. I, Von Ichor, was. They just couldn't control me in the precise way that they wanted to so they chalked it all up as a failure and left me chained to the walls in the basement. When I fought back, that man. That _Ironwood_ tried to burn me alive, taking down the entire building."

He turns away from me and looks out the other end of the building, where I can only see the sky. That's where this plateau drops off maybe ten stories. Seeing the opportunity, I use a haste glyph and dash in, grabbing Ruby and leaping out before he can react. At least, I think I do. When I'm almost out of the building, I hear the same gunshot crack and a hand grasps my leg, pulling me down to the ground. Unable to brace my fall, my chin slams on the metal and I drop Ruby. She lands face up outside in the mud.

My only thought is that I hope she doesn't drown in the rain. It's ridiculous really, my own life is in danger, but all that I can worry about is that girl.

Ichor clucks at me, turning me over before straddling my chest. The weight is almost unbearable. Almost. "If you hadn't done that, I might have let the girl live after I was through with you," he says, raising his right fist for a lethal strike.

It's a good thing that he didn't sit on my arms. As his arm descends, I throw my own up, making a glyph right in front of my neck and face. As the glyph catches his attack, I lock it, absorbing the force from his strike and reflect it, launching him back and into a wall which collapses over him. With no time to think, I run towards Ruby and try to pick her up again, but as soon as I get to her, he teleports in front of her and kicks me to the ground, picking up Ruby by the scruff of her collar and teleporting back into the building.

No!

I run inside and see him standing over her with his arms folded across his chest. "You miserable, little bitch. Do you think that I'm going to let you get away? No. And if you're not going to willingly give me your life, I'll just have to take it."

Moving with inhuman speed, he surges towards me holding his blade up against my throat. As if taunting me, he withdraws the knife and instead punches me in the gut following up with a roundhouse kick to the head that knocks me to the floor.

"I'm not going to make this quick either, I'll beat you within an inch of your life and when you beg for mercy, I'll beat you even harder." He picks me up by my throat and squeezes, looking into my eyes with pure malice.

Dark spots dance across my eyes as try to inhale in vain. As my energy falls, my grip on Myrtenaster loosens and I release it, unable to continue fighting. This is it; this is where I'm going to die.

"Nope," Ruby's voice says faintly, echoing through my head. "Weiss, you can't give up. I won't let you." She says, more resolutely. Forcing my eyes open, I see my precious rose, leaning on her fully extended weapon. Without warning, she rushes forward, leaving rose petals behind her. Leaping into the air with the help of a well-timed shot, she slashes in a short arc, yelling her fury. In response, Ichor dissipates, dropping me to the floor; he probably realized how outmatched he would be against two huntresses.

"Ruby?" I ask, reaching up as she reaches down to pick me up. "I'm-I'm so sorry. I thought th-" I wheeze, erupting into a coughing fit as air rushes down my contracted windpipe.

"What did I say, Weiss?" She asks softly, booping me on my nose. "You're not allowed to apologize to me. As much as I would love to just go home and take a nice warm bath, we need to take care of this guy."

I nod my assent and crouch down, picking up Myrtenaster and cycling the barrel to make sure that it's mechanism is working though I know that it is. "But how are we supposed to beat someone that we can't land a palpable hit on?" I ask.

"I have an idea," Ruby begins, that determined look that she gets in her eyes making an appearance. "Since we don't know where he's going to appear, let's make it bad for him wherever he chooses."

"Elaborate," I command, cocking my head to the side.

"Your glyphs: if we lay them along the floor infused with ice dust . . ."

" . . . We can create disabling landmines that'll trigger when they're stepped on," I finish, feeling a surge of pride. She's so intuitive when she wants to be.

After that, she brings up the face that we would have a better chance of not being blindsided if we situated ourselves with our backs to the edge of the plateau. While I agree with her, I'd rather not fall off the cliff so we compromise and put our backs to the mountain. Focusing my aura, I create a sheet of ice blue glyphs.

As if on cue, we hear the defining clap that tells us that our foe is about to appear.

"Nice Try!" He yells, dropping down from above us.

I drop my control of the glyphs and tumble forward; narrowly avoiding what would have been a disabling strike. Before he hits the ground, he kicks off the wall after me with the weapon on his right arm extended. I swipe Myrtenaster to the side, parrying his strike and respond with a thrust to central mass. Ruby dashes in from my left and takes a swing at Ichor's legs, firing Crescent Rose to give her extra speed. With equal pace, Ichor backflips over Ruby and kicks Myrtenaster out of my hands, landing near the edge of the cliff. My weapon lands near him and he picks it up, gripping it in his left.

"You're not going to get me like that," He taunts, teleporting in front of Ruby with lightning speed. "I should have taken care of you as soon as you outlived your usefulness!" He puts his hand on Ruby's hood and teleports again, bringing Ruby with him. When he reappears, he has her dangling off the edge of the cliff. Her weapon lays way out of her reach.

"Weiss!" She yells as I run forward, flailing around until she gets a solid kick on my blade. By some divine miracle, it sails through the air, landing with a clatter at my feet. I grab Myrtenaster and fire beams of aura activated ice dust at him, freezing his center mass. I might as well have been hitting a tree with a stick for all the effectiveness that it has. "I love you."

"Insolent girl," he scolds, stabbing Ruby in the side before tossing her off the cliff as though she weighed nothing.

When I see that, something inside me snaps and I dash forward furiously, blade in hand. He took Ruby from me not once, but twice. That is inexcusable. If he wants to kill me so badly, he'll have to work for it because as far as I'm concerned, he's already taken everything from me.

With a flurry of quick jabs, I advance, pushing him towards the edge of the cliff. He doesn't even try to respond, instead moving just enough to make my attacks miss. "My turn!" he screams as he spins, leaping forward towards me. He essentially makes himself into a spinning top of death, but I know what I can do to counter. Stabbing Myrtenaster into the ground, I create a shield of Ice before me. It throws his momentum completely and he tumbles to the side to keep himself going. Still on the offensive, he leaps into the air again, coming down with a forceful punch. Rolling to the side, I throw a beam of ice at him encasing his right arm as he hits the ground. He merely shrugs the attack off, fragmenting the ice with his other arm and teleporting away.

I close my eyes and wait for the sound that would herald his return, focusing my aura on the dust inside the ice cylinder. Finally he reappears above me, like he had before. The move wasn't very predictable, but I've honed my reflexes well. I sidestep and thrust Myrtenaster into the air, using it to redirect his momentum into the ground.

"Damnit! Just! Die! Already!" He howls, unsheathing his other forearm blade and leaping towards me, resembling some sort of Grimm. I dodge for as long as I can, throwing up glyphs to take some of the strikes that I can't avoid. We dance for a while, neither of us able to land a hit on the other, but his onslaught is merciless and I lose my footing on the slick floor. I stumble and just barely roll to the side as he pushes forward, slashing through my cloak and across my left arm. Fortunately, the wound isn't incredibly deep and I'm still able to raise my weapon. I'll probably feel that much later.

Ichor screams violently and throws himself forward in a wild manner, giving me a perfect opening. I roll underneath him and when he lands, I create a second shield of ice, catching his inevitable second strike. Now that he's immobile. I use a glyph beneath my feet to launch myself into the air towards a second glyph that I placed on the ceiling. Using the small amount of energy that it gives me, I point my weapon towards the ground and fire blast after blast of ice at Ichor as I twirl downwards like a missile to maximize my damage. Completely frozen, he's unable to respond to my attack and I cut through him like paper, shattering the ice that surrounds him and throwing little particles into the air. When it all settles I see Ichor's bisected body lying on the floor. He doesn't make a witty retort, or yell, or teleport. He just lies there as a pool of black liquid spreads out of his now exposed internal circuitry. Just to be sure, I throw more ice onto his remains, creating a glacial tomb.

Clutching my arm, I walk to the edge of the cliff, picking up crescent rose and collapsing it before falling to my knees. My Ruby . . . she's gone. Nobody could have survived a fall from that high up. I cradle her weapon, reaching into my pocket to get my scroll to call my team when my hand touches something metallic and cold. When I pull it out, I begin to sob uncontrollably.

I never got to give Ruby my necklace.

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**Don't worry, there's an epilogue. Everything that you're dying to know (get it dying) will be answered. Did Ruby actually survive? (The answer is in the first sentence of the epilogue. The epilogue is just going to tie up this arc and explain how it all went down.**

**Review, favorite, follow. You guys are what give the work life. What is the author without the readers anyway?**


	18. The First Epilogue

**A/N Welcome to the conclusion of the story arc. All you Bumblebee lovers don't need to worry, they're going to get more page time in the next story arc. As this one was Whiterose focused with hints of Bumblebee, that one will be Bumblebee with a hint of Whiterose.**

**It'll also be mostly fluff, this was too serious for me lol.**

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**Ruby**

"Weiss. Please. Stop," I request even though I don't really mean it. I love having her dote over me. It means that I get unlimited access to hugs and kisses. Right now, she has me in what Yang described as a death grip. She's been holding onto me for the past day. When the nurse asked her to leave last night, she pulled the Schnee card, telling him that her family was the one who funded the building of the hospital.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" She asks, loosening her hold on my arm slightly. I shake my head a little bit and rub my thumb across her palm in the way that she likes.

"Oh sis, you know you love it," Yang comments, smiling from ear to ear. "So, are you going to tell us how you managed to survive?" I'm in the hospital for one day and she's already rapid-firing questions at me. I'm glad that she's not upset at me, but then again, she is my older sister.

Blake sits quietly on the room's windowsill, staring out into the street. Occasionally her bow flicks when she sees something interesting. I didn't ask all of them to come and stay here with me; I would have been happy if they just visited once in a while. At Yang's question, Blake swings her legs off of the windowsill and looks at me curiously. I guess they all wanted to know the answer to this.

"Weiss, could you help me sit up?" I ask, painfully propping myself up on my elbows. I'm going to need to use my arms to tell this story.

"Of course," Weiss gently loops her arms around mine and pulls me up so that my back is resting on the wooden headboard. She smiles at me lovingly and pulls a chair up beside Yang, who sits on the floor of the room.

"There we were, fighting that man, Von Ichor, when I got caught because I was careless. He picked me up and stabbed me right here before throwing me off of the cliff," I say, pointing at my left side. "I was kind of lucky actually. Because of the cold, I couldn't feel the wound that much. At the bottom of the cliff was a forest full of pine trees, my hood snagged itself on one of the branches and helped to stop me a little bit before I landed on the ground." I stop to make sure that they're all following. "The fall really really hurt though, and besides the ache, I also started to feel the gash which had blood pretty much gushing out of it. I don't know why I did it, but I slid my hand into my pocket and found a sliver of burn Dust that I picked up earlier that day. I immediately knew what I had to do. There was already a cut in my corset so I tore it open, leaning my back up against a tree. Then I put the Dust into my wound and focused on it, causing it to burst into flames and sear the bleeding parts shut. Now I have this," I lift the hospital gown, exposing the raw, red flesh beneath my breasts to my teammates. They stare at me with eyes full of shock and I smile, dropping it down.

"Wow, you cauterized your own wound?" Blake asks, respect ghosting across her face before it returns to a stony, yet welcoming one.

"I don't know what that means, but I did burn it. The doctor says that there's no residual dust so I should be ok really soon."

A sudden rapping at the door catches all of our attention.

"May I come in?" General Ironwood says, holding his hands behind his back. Not waiting for a response, he steps inside snapping his fingers. "North," he calls, and a young, muscular blonde man runs in carrying a vase of flowers. "I apologize for not being straight with the four of you, if I had, then all of this could be avoided. Regardless, I thank you for removing the threat to Atlesian national security. I commanded the head of the hospital to release you effective immediately as I'm confident in your teammates' combined abilities' to protect you. I wish you a speedy recovery, Ruby. Please, enjoy the rest of your stay in Atlas."

North places the vase on my bedside table and salutes me before leaving the room with Ironwood. It takes us a while to recover from the Awkwardness of the entire thing, but eventually we do.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm kind of sick of this place. Back to Beacon?" I ask, smiling joyfully.

"We'll get an airship ready," Weiss replies getting up and giving me a long kiss before stepping away with Blake and Yang.

After they leave, I'm left alone with my thoughts and find my hands straying to my neck to finger the nearly circular locket around my neck. When I woke up here after they found me, I immediately noticed this. I don't normally wear jewelry and when I took it off, I realized that it was exactly like the one that Weiss wears around her neck. The charm at the bottom opened up, revealing a picture that Yang took of Weiss and I before our first date. In it, Weiss looks up defiantly and I stand beside her, looking as awkward as ever, but cheerful at the same time. I instantly put it back on and not a moment too soon. Weiss sprinted into the room and threw her arms around my neck, silent tears streaming down her face. "I'm never letting you leave my side," she said, holding me possessively. "I love you." As I open my mouth to respond, she kisses me, harder and with more passion than she ever had before. I didn't get to respond to her last night, but I do now.

"I love you too," I whisper, wondering what's going to come next for us.

* * *

**A/N Please let me know how that was :)**


	19. Chapter 19: A Return to Normalcy

**A/N Hey guys, I'm sorry for the huge wait between the last couple of chapters. This month has been extremely hectic in terms of school. I guess I'll be shooting for weekly uploads at this point.**

**Also for those of you who like good covers of video game music, check out Latios212 on youtube.**

**As always, I would love any reviews because they're what give me the drive to keep writing.**

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**Yang**

Man it's good to be back; Atlas was making me really restless. It was bad enough that my Kitty Cat got shot in the arm, but when Ruby got kidnapped. Well I guess it was a good thing that I didn't find out until after everyone was safe or I may have burned down Weiss' place. If there's one thing that I didn't miss about Vale during this time of year though, it would probably be this humidity. It gets my hair knotted and tangled and I just really really need a shower right now.

Ruby and Weiss went to the clinic at Weiss' stiff insistence to get Ruby checked out one more time. . . for the third time. Of course my little sister fought back however feebly it was, but Weiss managed to bribe her with promises of strawberry ice cream and cookies. I look at Blake over my shoulder who lies curled up in a ball on our shared bed, groaning, and smile to myself. Almost as soon as we got back from Atlas five days ago, her bleeding started. I can't help but smile at the irony; as powerful and elegant as she is, she's completely incapacitated by period cramps of all things.

I step into the relatively cool room and tiptoe my way across the smooth tile floor to a shower. I don't really feel heat as much as everyone else thanks to my aura, but my hair still frizzes up and is in need of constant brushing during this type of weather. I wish that it would just rain already and get it over with. I strip out of my orange tank top and black boy shorts, tossing them onto the floor before stepping into the shower. Sliding the curtain shut, I turn the shower handle slightly and step back as the ice cold water jets out onto the floor. I tentatively step into the water, gasping as it covers me from head to toe. Soon I get used to the temperature and enjoy it running my hands through my golden mass to tame it into a single, more manageable tress. I place my hair over my shoulder and lather sweet smelling shampoo into it in the effort to give it even more volume than it already has naturally.

When I get all the shampoo out, I turn the shower off and wring the water out of my hair. My aura also helps me out here; I focus it on my hair and feel the water start to steam out of it until it's completely dry to the touch. Looking around for a towel, I realize that as I rushed to shower, I forgot one.

Crap.

Well, Weiss and Ruby are out right now and the only one in the dorm is Blake so I should be fine. It's not like she hasn't seen me naked before and we have been sleeping together for at least four months now.

I quietly open the door and step into the room, walking very carefully so that I don't disturb my beautiful, Faunus lover. She's still in the same position that she was in nearly ten minutes ago when I entered the bathroom. I go into our shared closet and pull out an exact copy of the outfit that I was wearing before; even with the air conditioner on full blast, the room is too hot. For me at least.

I drop down on the bed besides Blake and stare into the pained expression on her face. She clutches her lower abdomen and moans in agony, curled into the fetal position. When she feels me beside her, her eyes fly open and she stares at me.

"What do you want, Yang?" She hisses under her breath. Every month I forget how testy she gets during her period.

"Blakey, I just want to lay with you," I reply, feigning a hurt look. She doesn't buy it, but moves over slightly, giving me room to maneuver myself next to her.

"Right. . ." she mouths, looking at me warily. I don't bite . . . unless she asks me to that is.

Trying to lighten her mood a little bit, I lay on my side and trace a path along her outer to inner thigh. "You know what's good for relieving period cramps, Blake? Sex." I attempt to slide my finger beneath her panties, but she slaps my hand away, growling at me.

"Yang!" She snaps, looking at me angrily for a moment before sighing and curling up into a ball. "Confound this cold," she breathes, wrapping her arms around herself. That's pretty weird because it's midsummer although with her hormones acting up, I'm not exactly surprised with how she feels.

I move towards her again and try to wrap my arms around her, but she resists pushing at my chest. "I don't want to have sex right now, Yang," she states, a pleading tone in her voice.

Now I'm actually hurt. Doesn't she understand that I'm not _always_ in it for the physical pleasure? The thing that really makes me happy is making her happy.

"I'm just trying to help you," I reply, focusing my aura in a small field around myself. It should be big enough to completely enclose Blake if she stays curled up like that. Because of its size, I should also be able to hold it for a long time.

Blake looks at me with a surprised look on her face and stops pushing against me, instead curling closer to me and nuzzling her face between my breasts. When she finally looks up, she gives me the most sincere smile and I kiss her on the forehead, holding her close. The pain has slightly disappeared from her face and I make a mental note of this: Blake on her period plus my heat makes a happy Kitty Cat.

I don't know how long we lay like that, but it's long enough for Blake to start sweating a little bit. At that point, I lower my focus just a little bit to keep the temperature around us at roughly room temperature. Blake's breathing then evens out and she lies, sleeping in my arms for a while. I'm glad that she does because this at least gives her a brief respite from the cramps. Anyway, after what we did in Atlas, she really does need her rest. It may have only been three days or so, but it felt like a couple of months.

I gingerly disentangle myself from her embrace and stand up, thinking of what I can do to help her when she wakes up. I walk to the study desk that's against the wall and pick up one of the mugs that sits atop it. Filling it up to the top with water from the sink, I place it back on the table. She loves tea and I still have a few more tea bags left; I'll heat it when she wakes up.

As I think of more things that I can do to keep her happy, the door slams open, making me cringe. Could they be any louder?

"Weiss, I'm starving. I haven't eaten since this morning. Can we please go get something to eat?" Ruby asks, flashing an innocent smile at her girlfriend.

"Guys, can you be quiet? It's Blake's . . . time of the month," I explain, motioning with my head towards the sleeping girl.

"Oh! My apologies. We'll head down to the cafeteria now," Weiss replies quickly, dragging Ruby out of the room.

"Wait, Yang, do you want to come with us?" Ruby asks, pulling against the grip of the smaller girl.

Blake _is_ asleep and it's not like she's been out for long; she'll probably still be sleeping by the time we get back. I decide to go with my teammates, walking out the door and closing it quietly behind me.

Weiss takes ahold of Ruby's hand and pulls her down the hallway with me trailing afterwards. It's really weird seeing Weiss show my sister affection in public, but I that's what almost losing someone that you love does to you. I knew that Ruby would be fine, she's the most resourceful and adaptable girl that I know.

Normally, an older sister would be furious to learn that her baby sister has been sleeping with someone, but this is an exception. Weiss is Weiss and I'm sure that she wouldn't do a thing to Ruby without her consent so I've been relaxed with them. Anyway, Ruby is head over heels despite only being with Weiss for four short months and she deserves a chance at real happiness.

When we get to the cafeteria, all of the students are starting to stream through the doors and very few are left inside. As we walk in, I spot Jaune and Pyrrha sitting down at a long table near a window and walk there with Ruby and Weiss beside me.

"Hey guys, where's Blake?" Jaune asks, picking up a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Aside from his strength increasing, Pyrrha's also increased his overall perceptiveness. I bet that a year ago, all that he would have noticed was the way that Weiss was wearing her hair (which has been almost always constant).

"Blake's taking a catnap," I chime, smiling at my own joke. When I'm good, I'm great. "Where're Ren and Nora?"

"They decided to go home for the rest of the summer, I guess they wanted some privacy," Jaune shrugs before chugging a whole glass of water.

I sit down across from them while Ruby and Weiss get food from the kitchen area. Jaune follows them to get another drink at Pyrrha's request and leaves the two of us alone. It's pretty awkward for a little while; I barely talk to Pyrrha unless it's for fighting tips. She knows the weakness of everyone that she's ever fought and that type of knowledge is useful, especially in Goodwitch's class.

"Yang?" she asks suddenly, a blush shrouding her normal complexion. "When did you . . . first . . . _you know_."

I almost laugh at her; she reminds me of Weiss in the way that she dances around what Weiss would call 'sensitive topics'. "Pyrrha, is this about Jaune?"

"Of course it is," she replies, her face turning as red as her hair.

"I was young. Enough said. Why?"

"You see, I'm . . . a maiden."

I smile at her. I knew that already as it's extremely obvious in the way that she's talking. Maybe that's not fair; if I didn't know any better, I would assume that Weiss and Ruby were virgins too. "That's nothing to be embarrassed of, Pyrrha. I assume that Jaune is in the same position as you?" Pyrrha nods uncharacteristically timidly in response "What do you want to know?"

"Is there any way that I can make our first time enjoyable? I've read such awful things in my research," she looks down and away, sighing heavily.

"Pyrrha, Jaune is absolutely and without a doubt in love with you. You don't need to worry at all. The only advice that I can give you is to relax and give yourself time to ease into it. It's going to be awkward, but if you can laugh it off, everything will be fine."

As I finish my sentence, Jaune, Ruby and Weiss return to the table with a mountain of food and four cups.

"Hey Yang, we got you an apple," Ruby announces, tossing a green fruit in my direction. I position my left hand in its flight path and catch it flawlessly, taking a huge bite out of it. The tart, sour yet sweet juice explodes in my mouth and I make quick work of it, tossing the core over my shoulder and into a trash can that sits along the wall. We eat mostly in silence because Ruby shovels food into her mouth, completely oblivious to anything else. Eventually she finishes eating and burps loudly, smacking her lips.

"Ruby, we heard about what happened to you in Atlas, are you alright?" Pyrrha asks, noticing an opening for conversation as she sips from her cup.

Ruby smiles earnestly at her, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. I have a huge scar on my right side though."

"Whoa, can we see it?" Jaune asks, a familiar twinkle appearing in his eyes.

"Sure, I just need to . . ." Ruby begins, unlacing her corset. I look on intrigued because I know that the scar is right under her right boob.

"Nope!" Weiss exclaims, throwing her arms around Ruby before she can do anything to expose herself. "We're in a public place, Ruby," Weiss scolds, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek.

"Weiss," Ruby whines, smiling the happiest smile that I've ever seen her smile.

Weiss moves her mouth up to Ruby's ear and whispers something that makes Ruby blush hard. "Bye guys, Weiss and I are going to head out. Yang don't wait up for us," she exclaims before using her semblance to dash out cafeteria with Weiss literally in tow.

"Ouch, Ruby. You're going to rip my arm off!" Weiss' voice trails off as the couple gets farther and farther away.

Jaune, Pyrrha and I look on in awe at my little sister's liveliness. "Well . . . I should probably get going too bye," I say, sprinting out of the building.

"Hey! Get back here and clean up your trash!" Jaune yells, but I'm already gone.

* * *

When I get back in the room, I notice a surprising lack of Ruby and Weiss. I figured that they would be in bed together or something. Then again, that would be very un-Weiss of Weiss as I could walk in at any time. My kitty cat still lays in bed, although she's rolled onto her back. Very gently, I sit down beside her and stroke her hair, running my right hand through it. The motion wakes her up and she very sleepily rolls over to make some room for me. I smile at her and get up, stripping into my underclothes and lay down beside her. It looks like the cup of tea is going to have to wait until tomorrow; I don't think she's going to be getting up tonight.

"Blake, don't you want to get something to eat or drink?" I ask, kissing her between her eyes.

She smiles at me and shakes her head, closing her eyes. Quickly, I get up and get ready for bed brushing my hair down before getting back under the covers with her. She yawns loudly and puts her arms around me, keeping me warm in her own loving embrace. It isn't very long before I drift off to sleep and I welcome it.

* * *

The sun is shining onto my face when I wake up. I see Ruby and Weiss lying together in Weiss' bed as I rub the sleep out of my eyes. They should really just take down the top bed like we did. The sound of a toothbrush from the bathroom and the fact that she isn't beside me tells me that Blake is in the bathroom. I get to my feet and walk into it, wrapping my arms around her.

"G'morning Blakey, guess you're feeling better," I observe, kissing her on the cheek. I take my toothbrush from its holder and squirt some toothpaste onto it, keeping an arm around her shoulder while I brush.

"Good morning Yang, I'm sorry about yesterday. I should have been more patient with you."

"Don't worry about it Kitty Cat. Just tell me that you love me and everything will be alright," I say, spitting into the sink. She didn't even flinch when I called her Kitty Cat, I guess that I can use that as her pet name.

"I can do better than that," she replies seductively rinsing her mouth out with water.

I finish quickly and scoop her into my arms, bringing her towards when bed when I notice a red stain on the white bed sheets where I was sleeping. I put Blake down and pull my shorts away from my waist; noticing and suddenly feeling wetness there that I'm sure isn't because I'm horny.

Oops.

I stopped keeping track of my period after I got with Blake because it didn't really matter; she can't get me pregnant. I look over at my girlfriend and she smirks at me amusedly.

"Yang, do I need to get you some tea or something?" She asks playfully, winking at me.

That fiend, she knew that I was going to start my period soon. I shake my head at her and she walks out of the room, probably to get me something. Hopefully to get me something.

Aww man, I can already feel the cramps.

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**A/N**

**Tada! Here's something lighthearted for those that suffered through that last story arc. Hope you guys enjoy the rest of it!**


	20. Chapter 20: Black and White

**A/N Hey y'all, sorry for the late upload. Midterm week turned into midterm month due to excessive snow and I haven't been able to upload as frequently as I would like to. Here's something fun to read anyway, if you're into it, it should be fun to re-read (you'll see). **

**Without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

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**Blake**

Last week was absolutely horrible although I suppose it could have been worse; I could have had my period in Atlas, a location that I'm not familiar with. That wouldn't have been fun. I look at Yang who sits, crossing her legs on our bed with a pout on her face. She just came off of hers as well. I guess that it's true: a woman's cycle coincides with those of her closest friends. I'm surprised that Weiss and Ruby haven't been hit by this months 'gift' as well. Speaking of Ruby, she waltzes out of the bathroom and plops down on Weiss' bed which they've been constantly sharing since our return.

"Blake, are you coming or not?" Weiss' shrill voice asks as she stands outside of our door, crossing her arms impatiently. Maybe she's on her period, I think, smiling to myself.

"I'll be right there, Weiss," I respond, looking at my remaining two teammates who sit, looking bored. "Ruby, Yang, why don't the two of you spend some quality sister time together. You haven't really had much of that recently."

At the suggestion, Ruby looks at me with a light in her eyes which was my intention. The two of them are as close as I've ever seen two siblings. She immediately walks over to Yang and whispers something into her ear. The look on Yang's face sends a shiver down my spine; that's the face that she has when she's planning something.

I hope that I haven't made a horrible mistake.

* * *

Curse my choice in wardrobe color. It's too hot to be wearing black right now and purple is almost no better. As much as I love these colors, I may have to take a page from Weiss' book and wear something lighter.

"Hey, Weiss, why did you want me to come along?" I ask, walking in stride with her. She's wearing her hair down which is abnormal, especially on a day like today.

Weiss looks at me like I'm crazy, but keeps walking. "Blake, didn't you say that you needed to get some new sheets?"

I may have said that at some point, maybe last night or something. Because of my lover's lack of organization, she forgot the timing of her period and essentially ruined one of our bed sheets. I wonder why Weiss wanted to come out here.

"I do, but did you need to come out?"

She responds by turning away from me. I can see a little bit of red in the corners of her face. "Well . . . I know that you can keep a secret, and I trust you. Ruby and I need a," she says, not meeting my gaze.

"What was that, Weiss? I couldn't hear you," I state, smiling to myself a little bit. I think that some of Yang may have rubbed off on me. Not sexually, although that has happened occasionally. I mean attitude wise; a year ago, I doubt that I would have gotten any pleasure out of tormenting our resident Heiress, but now . . .

"Four ears and you couldn't hear me?" She responds incredulously with a wicked blush covering her normally pale countenance. The truth is that if I really tried, I probably could have heard her. She cups her mouth with her hands in the universal signal for a whisper and I bend myself into a position to hear her. "We need a cover underneath our mattress," she whispers, immediately looking away again.

It takes me a couple of seconds to realize what she means by that and it takes nearly all of my effort to keep from laughing. With a look of amusement, I keep walking until we finally reach the general purpose bath and bed chain store that has popped up all over remnant in the past few years.

Weiss and I walk inside and towards the bed area where, besides having an entire warehouse of beds, they have sheets, comforters, sleeping bags and anything else you could want hanging from the different aisles. Weiss leaves me with the sheets and quickly disappears down the aisle labeled 'protection'. Eventually, I decide on a package deal consisting of 3 differently colored bed sheets paired with pillow sheets in black, red and white. My logic behind the red and black was obvious; the colors hide stains well and we're probably going to need it. After a while, Weiss returns with a plastic basket that's covered with a red bed sheet.

"What's that for?" I inquire, cocking my head at her. I thought that she came here for a protector.

"I can't have everyone knowing," she replies simply, walking past me.

I follow her to the cash registers and as I pull out my wallet to hand my money to the cashier, Weiss puts up her hand and pays for the both of us. While I would normally object to this, sheets are really unnecessarily expensive. We leave the shop and walk down the city of Vale's main street and I take in the sights and sounds of summer. Children run and play in the side streets where few cars drive and vendors sell food from their stands on street corners, trying to make a modest living. Everything is so independent, but somehow codependent.

"Remnant to Blake? Hello? I asked you if you wanted to get a cup of coffee," Weiss interrupts, crossing her arms and looking at me expectantly. She wants to get coffee with me which means that she wants to talk . . . privately. That isn't a problem, I enjoy the brief moments that I get to spend with Weiss; she's much more mature and level headed than she was two years ago.

"Absolutely," I reply with a smile.

She walks me down the city blocks until we reach a coffee shop that, oddly enough, doesn't have a name. We enter it and a low light instantly overtakes us. The ambience is quite pleasant as the temperature is cool, but not cold. The table that Weiss chooses is snug in the corner of the room and because of her apparent comfort, it seems like she's been here before.

"So, Weiss, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" I ask as I settle into the wooden chair.

She drops the smile that she's been wearing all day and produces a black hair-tie from around her left wrist, using it to tie her hair into the neat, curly, ponytail that she's accustomed to. Looking at me, she places her hands on the table and sighs heavily. I assume that this has something to do with what we spoke of in Atlas, but I listen to make sure.

"It's about Ruby," she says calmly, contrasting the hysteria that she fell into after her tryst in Atlas.

I'm about to respond to her when our waiter comes over, smiling familiarly at Weiss. "Miss. Schnee, welcome back. What can I do for you?" He asks, rubbing his hands together anticipatorily before pulling out a small notepad and pen from his back pocket.

Weiss looks at me expectantly and I realize that she's waiting for me to order. Since I doubt that this conversation will be simple, I decide on something simple and order an iced green tea. Ordering after me, Weiss gets a plain coffee with a shot of espresso which puzzles me. The Weiss that I know barely uses any stimulant besides the dust that she carries with her. I stow that thought to the back of my mind and smile at the waiter as he leaves.

"What about Ruby?" I ask once he's gone. I recognize the look that Weiss gives me, thinking back to the night that we had before our big fight which resulted in me inadvertently revealing my Faunus heritage.

"Do you think that she's getting annoyed with me?"

"If you're referring to your constant nagging her and following her around . . . then no." Ruby could never get tired of Weiss and it's obvious how much she enjoys being doted on. In that way she is still a child, although I don't see a problem with being indulgent from time to time.

"Really? I could have sworn that she was getting fed up," she states, staring up into her brain.

"Weiss, Ruby loves the attention that you give her. She loves it even _more_ that you're sleeping in the same bed as her without any protest. You're fine," I assure, before our waiter returns with our drinks. Weiss smiles at me gratefully and we talk over our drinks for a while afterwards. I'm glad that she's coming to me for advice now. Then again, she can't go to Ruby with this kind of thing and Yang is . . . Yang, but I'll take what I can get.

Once we're finished, Weiss gets up and goes to the front counter to pay. This time, I refuse to let her pay for me and force my Lien into her hands. Grudgingly she takes it and hands me her bag of sheets, telling me to wait outside. I don't have to wait for long when she comes out with a small pink box in a clear bag.

"What're those?" I ask curiously. My sense of smell can't pick anything specific up besides the plastic surrounding it, but I can tell that it's something sweet.

"They're a gift for Ruby," she replies, shrugging apologetically.

That only proves my point. Weiss is absolutely and unconditionally generous when it comes to her girlfriend and it would take something major for Ruby to get annoyed by her. It's just in her nature to be accepting and accommodating, but Weiss' insecurities often get the better of her. I smile at her and we decide to return to Beacon; we got what we came for.

* * *

As we step into the residential building, we see Russel Thrush and Sky Lark sitting on the foot of the stairs, blocking the way for us to walk through.

"Yo, Belladonna!" Thrush greets with a sinister smile on his face. I don't like the look of that one bit. Instinctually, my arm twitches as it tries to go for Gambol Shroud, but I stop myself.

"What do _you_ miscreants want?" Weiss replies, placing her hands on her hips. It isn't as intimidating as it should be because of the bags that she's carrying.

"Nothing from you, Ice Queen. We just wanted to tell Belladonna here that her girlfriend was cozying up to Cardin while she was gone." Sky laughs at Russel's words, giving him a high five.

A flame inside me suddenly ignites itself and I find myself with Gambol Shroud at Russel's throat. "You're lying!" I scream, pressing the blade in.

Sky pulls his halberd off of his back and Weiss drops her bags, drawing Myrtenaster and pointing it at him. "Whoa whoa whoa, everyone just calm down. Don't believe us then, go ask her for yourself," Russel spits, pushing me off. I stumble for a second and stand, staring at the ground as they leave the building, muttering to themselves.

"Blake, before you do anything crazy . . ." Weiss begins, but I don't wait long enough to hear the rest, instead dashing up the stairs and leaving my bag of sheets behind. Soon, I'm in front of our dorm and I stand there, fuming angrily. I know that I have nothing to be worried about, but I'm irrational right now and I don't care.

"Blake!" Weiss yells, out of breath as she comes up the final few stairs to our floor, dropping all of the bags on the floor. "Can you just relax for one second? Why would Yang do that?" She asks, trying to reason with me.

I don't know, Weiss. Why does Yang do anything? I ignore her, and press my scroll to the receiver, slamming the door open. On the far side, I see Ruby and Yang sitting exactly where we left them, though this time, they're whispering to each other quietly.

"Yang!" I yell, stamping towards her. She looks up at me confusedly and steps forward with her arms open. I grab them and force them up above her head as I push her up against the wall, glaring angrily into her eyes. She opens her mouth to protest and I kiss her hard, forcing my tongue into her mouth.

"Ruby! Time to go!" Weiss shrieks, running into the room and grabbing her partner by the hand.

"But, Weiss," Ruby objects, apparently not understanding what I'm about to do here. Her innocence is adorable sometimes. I guess she isn't really that innocent though, considering the amount of time Yang and I have had to spend out of our dorm this week.

"I have cookies for you," Weiss counters. I stop what I'm doing momentarily and look at the two of them, but don't relax my grips on Yang's wrists. Ruby perks up and runs out of the room without Weiss, waiting for her to follow. Picking up the bag with the small box inside, Weiss rushes out of the room and shuts the door loudly.

Privacy. Perfect.

I turn my attention back to my partner, who looks into my eyes in a way that I've rarely seen from her: fear and arousal. Ok, I've seen the arousal plenty of times, but the fear is new. "Blake-" she starts to say, but can't finish her thought as I continue my onslaught.

Pressing back into her, I take my free hand and run it through her golden mane, pushing her head down to align her lips with my own. I set the tempo and I'm in control as I kiss her, moving her tongue with my own when she tries to get greedy. When we part for air, I glare at her and give her a moment to speak.

"What are you doing?" She asks somewhat defensively, and in the position that she's in, she probably won't be able to make a strong case against me.

"I heard from Russel Thrush that you're doing things behind my back," I answer, keeping my offensive as vague as I possibly can. In my time dating her, I've realized that the best way to argue with Yang is to make her self-incriminate.

She shatters my expectations and doesn't miss a beat, instead giving me a look of disbelief. "Blake, you know that I would never cheat on you." I smile inside, but keep my look of anger constant.

"Promise?" I ask, challenging her with my eyes.

"I swear," She replies, forcing her wrists through my grip with ease and turning me, pinning me against the wall where I had her before. I scold myself, realizing that she was toying with me the entire time. Of course she has more upper body strength than me, that's part of who she is.

"Good," I growl, softening my face, and using all of my strength to push my hands free, throwing them around Yang's neck and closing my eyes. Her arms slide into place around my waist and we come together like a puzzle, locking our lips passionately. The way she kisses is different than it was earlier; instead of being tentative, she destroys my tempo, causing me to have to fight her for presence. Eventually we settle into an even equilibrium as our tongues dance back and forth, filling the space that the other leaves as we maneuver for the best position. Her taste makes my heartbeat accelerate and my knees weaken, even after all this time and I know that I want to be with her forever. I sneak a quick peek at her as we make out and feeling my gaze, she opens her eyes too. From the look in her eyes, I can tell that I still have the same effect on her.

"Wanna take this to the bed?" She asks breathlessly, her chest heaving up and down as she tries to catch her breath. I'm still a little bit angry at her even though I have no reason to be, but she hasn't had sex since before her period nearly two weeks and I hate starving her out. In response, I run my right palm along her right breast and stop right above her cleavage, pushing her onto our bed. As she falls, I step forward and pull my top off, tossing it aside and straddle her waist, leaning in to kiss her.

She sweeps my hair out of the way and eagerly accepts my lips again, nibbling at the bottom one as she reaches around my back to undo my bra-strap. I shoot up and slap her hand away, smiling roguishly at her. In this position I'm completely in control. I lean in and kiss her on the cheek, peppering my way down to her neck. She writhes beneath me, but I have her completely immobile. I lick her neck and nibble on it before biting down and sucking hard. This elicits a sharp intake of breath from Yang who exposes her neck more and pulls me closer to her. When I move my head away, there's a small crimson spot where I bit and a spot of blood coagulating over a puncture wound.

Oops, I guess I bit a little bit too hard. Yang doesn't seem to mind though as I can see the lust burning in her eyes. She wraps her arms around my waist and pulls me down so that I'm on my hands and knees over her.

"Blake, do you trust me?" She asks suddenly, holding her arms around my neck lazily.

The question catches me off guard since the mood that I'm in right now isn't exactly talkative. How can she even ask that anyway? She's my partner and even if I didn't want to trust her, I need to because when we're out on missions, my life is literally in her hands.

"Of course I do," I reply, kissing her passionately. I nibble on her bottom lip and taste blood, scolding myself again. I really need to be careful of how hard I bite even though she doesn't seem to mind. Healing those little cuts uses a decent amount of aura that I would prefer her to use to keep me warm in our post sex cuddling sessions.

"Good," she smirks, mirroring my tone from earlier.

I expect her to turn on me, taking control of the situation, but she doesn't. Instead, she lays, unmoving, staring into my eyes with love. She's waiting for me to make a move. I kiss her once more and trail down the front of her neck until I reach her cleavage. Helping her into a sitting position, I tear off her tank top and toss it into corner of the room. Her breasts are spilling over her bra and I help her out of that too, positioning myself right over her leg. She raises an eyebrow at me, probably feeling the wetness that's rubbing against her as I move.

She cups her left breast and kneads her right nipple, closing her eyes and waiting for the touch of my tongue. Too bad she's not getting it any time soon. I work my way around her non erogenous spots, nibbling her arm, beneath her breasts, her belly button and anywhere else that I can to build anticipation.

"Damnit, Blake can you quit teasing me?" She requests, although it's hard to take her seriously, with her breasts almost covering her face.

In response, I kiss her on her nose and finally give her what she wants, taking her nipple into my mouth and swirling my tongue around it. I can feel it getting bigger and she exhales in relief, pulling my head towards her yet again. I love that I can make her react like this even after half a year. I love her.

I rub myself on her leg as I play with her nipple, moaning quietly. The vibrations from my mouth stimulate her even further and she snaps, grabbing me and flipping us over so that she straddles me instead. "Sorry, is this ok?" Yang asks, smiling at me dorkily. She knows that it's ok, but considers my feelings anyway. I nod at her and she reaches around to my backside, tugging at my shorts desperately. Arching my back to help her out, she tears my shorts off. I smile at her naughtily when I see the look on her face as she realizes that I've gone commando.

She lunges onto me and holds my arms above my head roughly shoving her tongue into my mouth. It's my turn to look surprised when she brings her knee up between my legs and rubbing me as she kisses me. My legs involuntarily buckle as she does; it's been awhile since my last orgasm and her knee pressing on my clit reminds me of that. "Yang," I gasp, punctuating my statement with a moan. "Go down on me."

"Hm, considering how long you teased me for-"

"Yang!" I plead, kissing her neck where I had bitten her before and suckling on her wound.

"Alright, Kitty Cat." She winks at me as she slides off of the bed, dragging my hips towards her. We're lucky that the bed is the perfect height for her to be on her knees.

Dragging her tongue across my inner thigh, she skirts around my slit, but never directly touches it. Every time that I try to move myself to be where her tongue is, she tightens her grip on me and keeps me completely still. The anticipation that I was trying to build hits me like a train; my clit throbs with need and I bite my lip to keep from crying out in frustration.

"Yang, if you don't take me now, I could die," I warn her, wiggling myself to prove a point. Before I can say anything more, she spreads my slit and drags her tongue up it, staying at my clit to flick it a few times. As she does, I involuntarily close my legs around her head squeeze, trying not to pass out from the intense sensitivity

"Blake." I hear her call, muffled by my thighs. The tingling vibrations of her mouth add to her motions, making me squeeze harder. "You're going to crush my head."

"Sorry," I pant, relaxing my thighs and chuckle nervously. She looks up from between my legs with a stupid smile on her face.

"Can you imagine if I died like that?"

The absurdity of her question makes me burst out laughing and I pull her up to me, cradling her. I kiss her softly and can taste my own arousal on her mouth, which only increases it. I shrug it off though; that'll literally come later.

"I doubt that you would mind," I reply, stroking her hair.

"If there were any way that I would have to go out," she replies solemnly before breaking into that same smile again. "But who would speak at my funeral?"

"Well I would, and I would also obviously have to write the epitaph on your headstone." She laughs at that and I can't help but laugh with her; it's contagious. "Yang Xiao Long: died the way she lived."

"Hey I like that, poetic and gets the point across. You deserve an orgasm for that," she states, winking at me.

Putting her hand behind my head, she kisses me hard. I close my eyes again and throw my arms around her neck thoroughly enjoying the way that she handles me. I take her tongue into my mouth and suck on it, taking it as deep as I can without tearing it. Fueled by my action, she takes her finger and slides it along my moist slit, teasing the entrance, but not entering it. I would complain if it didn't feel so good.

To show her my appreciation, I moan into her mouth loudly. It would be loud anyway, but she muffles most of the noise with her tongue. Just when I think that I can't take it anymore, she smoothly slides herself into me, causing me to dig my nails into her back. She pistons into me repeatedly, lightly scratching the ceiling of my vagina. The stimulation that it gives me is indescribable and I scratch down her back, unable to contain my pleasure. Soon my moans are echoing off of the walls, but I can't help it. I suppose that I'll just have to deal with the fallout tomorrow. I mean, I know that I'm not the first victim that Yang has had, but I'm determined to be the last.

She suddenly increases her tempo, going deeper than she had before and I cringe momentarily, unable to breath; I haven't been penetrated in three weeks or so and it's tight. Fortunately, my inherent lubrication settles that and within minutes, I find myself on the threshold of an orgasm.

"Yang!" I moan loudly, squeezing my legs together as they begin to shake rapidly.

She understands my meaning and withdraws her finger, groping, fondling and kissing me everywhere as I ride out one of the most intense orgasms that she's ever given me. I can feel myself contracting wonderfully and I can feel Yang's warm embrace, but I can't feel anything else. The room smells of sex, although it might just be my hyper sensitive Faunus nose that picks that up.

She holds me once I'm finished, sighing with a satisfied look on her face. This in and of itself is odd; when is Yang ever satisfied?

I get to my knees shakily and spread Yang's legs, seeing that her black boy shorts are soaked near the center. She shrugs at me, spreading them even further and placing her hands behind her head onto the pillow. Putting her feet into the air, I'm able to tug her shorts off revealing a pair of equally soaked panties that read 'My Girlfriend's a Pussy'. She smiles at me, happily and I groan, tearing that aside with my nails. The fabric rips easily and yang makes a sound of protest that I easily silence with a finger to her lips - her nether lips.

Using a similar motion to the one that she made, I finger her and press down into the floor of her vagina. She loves this kind of stimulation and even made a point to buy us a dust powered butt plug once. I've since 'misplaced' it since it took all the fun out of it for me. She squeezes her breasts as I work, biting the edge of the pillow to keep from yelling. If I'm loud, Yang's a thunderstorm. We've gotten in trouble for noise complaints more than once, thanks to that magic finger of hers.

As I feel the walls of her vagina clench up, I withdraw my finger and smile at her deviously. I place my head between her thighs and spread her lips aside, revealing a very pink, swollen clit. I lick it tentatively, sending a delectable shiver through Yang's body. For one so gifted in the art of sex, she's very easy to please. Instead of licking it, I like right below it, which alleviates a good amount of the sensitivity, but gives her the same amount of pleasure. I discovered the spot in Atlas by accident after she made me breakfast. She grips the bed sheets in her hands and moans loudly. I can hear the sound of tearing fabric, but I can't see or smell anything other than her most precious organ. She moans my name and I know that she's near the edge.

It's time for me to change tactics again.

I feel bad teasing her, but at the same time I know that she loves it despite her constant protesting. Still, I should give her the orgasm that she's been waiting three weeks for. I place my finger in her mouth and let her suck on it for a little bit while I spread her butthole apart with my other hand, stretching the skin and allowing it to retain the shape a little bit. She knows what I'm about to do and moans, even though I'm not touching her. It looks like the mere thought of me entering her there makes her wet.

I carefully slide my index finger into her, fingering her in the same way that I had fingered her vagina. A blush forms in her cheeks; she's trying her hardest not to finish so that she can enjoy this. I don't tell her that an orgasm doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to stop though. It's much more fun to watch her. To add more fun, I slide a finger back into her vagina as well and she looks at me surprisedly. Losing her hold on the pillow and arching her back, moaning loudly enough for people outside the kingdom to hear her. Then she loses hold on her control, coming hard and loud all over our bed sheets. I stand by her until she finishes riding out her orgasm, although by the time she's finished, we're both completely soaked with cum.

* * *

We both stand, fully clothed over the ruined tatters of our once proud bed sheet. I found out during our shower that I had broken skin in her back when I clawed her. Not only are there stains from that though, the sheets are completely torn apart from multiple orgasms and wet with other fluids. I definitely don't want to cuddle on that. It's a good thing that I bought sheets today.

"So . . . do you want to lie together?" Yang asks, sitting on the edge of Weiss' bed.

"Where? There? But I bought sheets."

"Eh, we can deal with that tomorrow. Come here," she commands, stretching her arms outwards.

I roll my eyes at her, but oblige. It doesn't look like Weiss and Ruby will be back tonight anyway.

* * *

**A/N So a lot of things happened in this chapter huh. It looks like there might be a whiterose chapter. **_**Please**_** leave reviews, they're what help me put out more content. My thanks.**


	21. Chapter 21: A Fine Suggestion

**A/N**

**Hey guys, finals time. My upload speed has been completely destroyed, but that isn't going to stop me! However, I will be taking a small hiatus. Favorite, follow and review if you can. I'd greatly appreciate it.**

* * *

**Ruby**

I don't know what Weiss was talking about; I was totally able to drink that whole gallon of milk and I only needed to pee three times. Well this makes it the fourth time, but who's counting?

I pull up my leggings and flush the toilet before walking to the sink. I look up into the mirror and smile at myself. I feel much better now that we're home. It's been two weeks since we got back, but I'm finally starting to feel like myself again. Pretending that I was fine all that time was pretty hard, but spending every night with Weiss beside me sure helped. Like dad always said, you gotta get through the bad to get to the good.

When I walk into the room, my ears are hit with the lovely melody that is my girlfriend's voice. "Blake, are you coming or not?"

Smiling inside, I sit down on her bed and pull out my scroll, trying to find a believable argument for throwing out the bed that hangs above this one. I know that I should probably just be honest with Weiss and tell her that I don't want to have my own bunk anymore, but she _did_ say that she always wanted bunk beds once.

"I'll be right there, Weiss. Ruby, Yang, why don't the two of you spend some quality sister time together. You haven't really had much of that recently." Blake replies, getting my attention.

She's right, since we all started dating each other, Sis and I haven't been able to do the things that we used to. I grin at Blake and stand up, walking over to the bed that she shares with Yang.

"Hey, Yang, do you want to mess with Cardin?" I whisper. "Yesterday, I saw him bullying a Faunus freshman, tugging on his tail."

Yang smiles slyly at me and then takes a quick look at Blake, though I don't know why. Blake returns a look at Yang and slips out the door with Weiss. As they leave, I sigh involuntarily, making Yang giggle.

"Ruby, you really _are_ like a lost puppy without her," she observes, clapping her hands together. "So, what do you want to do to Cardin?"

I groan at my older sister and stamp my foot. "I am _not_ a lost puppy. I'm just . . . a lost puppy ok fine. I don't know, you're the goddess of revenge."

If there's one thing that I know about Yang, it's that flattery is a powerful weapon against her. Blake has shown me that a bunch of times. She sits, thinking to herself for a moment before snapping her fingers.

"That's it!" She exclaims, getting to her feet. "Ok, Sis, follow me."

Dragging me by my arm, she pulls me out the door and makes me wonder if she somehow forgot the meaning of the word follow because I'm pretty sure that this isn't that. When we're halfway down the hall she comes to a full stop and leans up against the wall. I copy her and glare, even though she doesn't see it.

"What are we doing?" I ask, watching the crowds of students flow through the hallway until only a small trickle remains.

"You'll see._ Trust me_," she says, chuckling to herself at something funny. Oh I wish she'd share, that's where half of the fun of pranking someone is. Then again, my sister does have her ways and with the results that she gets, I can't really question her.

In under a minute, Cardin and his gang round the corner, laughing to themselves. They probably kicked a puppy or something. As awful as those guys are, they're pretty handy in a fight and I would feel safe having them go into battle with me - just not anywhere else.

Yang slinks over to Cardin just like Blake walks towards her before Weiss makes me leave the dorm and stops, reaching up to run her hand from his right shoulder to the chest of his breastplate. Just when I think that she can't do anything more . . . uncomfortable, she kisses him right on the mouth.

I gasp loudly and cover my mouth with my hand. What is she doing? Blake would _kill_ her if she saw this.

Cardin looks just as surprised as I am, but being the macho man that he is, smiles at her. Then Yang says something that I can't hear, making Cardin take out his scroll. She snatches it away from him and inputs something before handing it back with an exaggerated wink. I don't know if it was to me, or to him or what, but she skips back over to me afterwards with lopsided grin. Pulling me back down the hall, and into our dorm, she closes the door and begins to laugh hysterically.

Now I'm really confused.

"Yang? What was that? You know that Blake-" I begin, starting to stress myself out. My wound throbs painfully, but I ignore it and focus on my sister instead.

She raises her arms defensively "Relax, Rubes. I can explain." I give her a look that tells her to go on. I'm not going to be a part of something if it means keeping a secret from one of my teammates. "I needed to make it look believable didn't I?"

"Well what did you even do?"

"I put Goodwitch's scroll address into his scroll under my name," she announces, flashing me her signature grin again. I tilt my head at her, not understanding why she needed to go through all of that nonsense just to do that. "I kissed him and told him that if he ever got lonely, I could make him less lonely. Then I entered Goodwitch's address and put the name as Yang Xiao Long - Booty Call."

"Oh, I get it. That's pretty slick, Sis. But, I bet that I could have done something even better."

"Wait, I haven't even gotten to the best part. I told him that not to call me and instead to message me with exactly what he wants me to do. That way, Goodwitch'll catch him right away."

She looks at me expectantly and while her plan really was good, it was too . . . Yang. I've been working on a short range scroll function jammer that would block everything except for aura monitoring; I wouldn't want anyone to get killed because of a prank. I guess I can save it for another time.

"Since I'm apparently not getting any laughter out of you, why don't we go do something more fun for the both of us?" She asks, picking up Ember Celica and snapping both gauntlets onto her wrists. "I wanted to do a bit of maintenance work and thought that you might want to come and help me out."

I can't help but smile; she always knows what to say to perk me up.

* * *

Nobody is here at all and it's amazing. Though I guess that's expectable, since most of the students here are back home with their families and even during the school year, this place is nearly empty. I've even been able to claim a workbench in the name of Team RWBY even though the whole place is supposed to be shared. I don't really have anything that I need to do to Crescent Rose so I stand next to Yang, with my toolbox.

"Hey Ruby, pass me your screwdriver," Yang orders, holding her hand out as she idly picks at her right gauntlet.

I place the toolbox on the floor and open it, taking my red and black screwdriver from its spot and handing it to her. Weiss is always surprised when she sees how organized my toolbox it. Why wouldn't my toolbox be organized? I need to know where everything is so that I can tune up my baby whenever I need to.

Yang tinkers with the gun attachment to her weapon for a little while before finally slamming the screwdriver down and looking up at me.

"Alright. I'm finished. How about we try these out?" She asks, looking at me competitively. I take Crescent Rose off of its sheath and nod back at her.

Within minutes, we have the firing range of the workshop set up with the standard beowolf targets with a set of two at ten, twenty and thirty yards.

"We'll do this the way we used to. Three shots each. The first one to get all of them off most precisely wins and the other has to buy them dinner."

I nod, that's our standard agreement. "And you have to use slugs," I add, not forgetting the trick that she played on me the first time that she made this agreement with me; explosive rounds tend to not leave a target behind to inspect.

"Alright, take your position." She says, cocking both gauntlets and raising them in her boxing stance.

I twirl Crescent Rose, opening it and slamming it into its standing unipod mode. Crouching down to line my eyes up with the scope, I turn the gun's safety off and cock it.

"Begin!" Yang yells, throwing a punch and firing her gauntlet.

I look up from the scope and see that the first target has a giant hole missing from its center. Shoot, literally. I pick up the pace and look down my scope, aiming my crosshair just above the bull's-eye in the center of the target and fire. The good thing about using Crescent Rose in this form is that I don't need to worry about my breathing; the stability from the stance takes care of that. As the round leaves the barrel of my gun, I pivot it on the unipod and take my shot at the second target. Then I make quick work of the third and stand up, staring out into the firing range.

"Took you long enough, Sis." Yang smiles, crossing her arms at me.

"Clear!" I yell at the top of my lungs. There isn't a single person here besides the two of us, but spending weekends with Uncle Qrow during my training drilled it into me.

Yang and I walk down the range towards the first target to see who was closest to the bull's-eye and it's a no-brainer. Even someone who didn't use a ranged weapon could tell that I have this one. Yang technically hit her bull's-eye too and faster, but she also blew out half of the target.

"Oh come on, that has to count!" She protests, staring at me open mouthed.

"Yang, do you even understand how a marksman contest works?" I ask incredulously.

"Let's just move on."

Her next shot leaves a smaller impact the size of a shotgun slug. This one is actually gradable and is a tough comparison to my own shot. Because of the size and weight of the slug as well as her method of shooting, she would have needed to aim pretty far up and start firing left of the target.

"I think you get this one, Yang."

"Woohoo! Yeah, Yang!" She exclaims, punching the air.

Since Qrow began to train me, I was the better marksman and it took all that Yang had to beat me at first, but as time went on I blew her out of the water. She may be able to beat me during unarmed sparring, but this is where I shine.

"Don't get too excited, there's one more target left, Sis," I remind her.

We walk to the final target and the result is instantly clear. Yang's shot went straight between the beowolf's eyes, missing the bull's-eye completely. Yang groans, slapping herself in the forehead. "I can't believe that I did that!"

"Looks like I win this one," I smile, taking my older sisters hand in my own. "I want extra dessert."

Sighing in defeat, Yang drops her shoulders and smiles at me before ruffling my hair. "Alright Ruby, let's just go drop our stuff off in the room. I need to get my wallet anyway."

* * *

When we return to the dorm, I put my things in the closet that Weiss and I are now sharing and close the door, dropping down on Yang's bed. Man, I've been standing for a long time. I think as I massage my baby cow. Yang sits down beside me and her scroll begins to beep. She pulls it off of her holster and looks at it before throwing it underneath the mattress.

"Who was it?" I exaggeratedly whisper, leaning close to her.

"It was Professor Goodwitch. I think Cardin called in sooner than we expected," She whispers back as the door slams open, revealing a very angry looking Blake.

"Yang!" She shouts, stepping towards my sister. I don't understand what's going on and before I know it, she has Yang up against the wall with her mouth pressed to her own.

"Ruby! Time to go!" My snow angel announces, taking my wrist and attempting to pull me out of the room. Too bad she doesn't have much upper body strength because she relies so heavily on those glyphs.

"But Weiss," I resist, trying to reassure Yang that _that_ is probably going to turn out fine.

"I have cookies for you," she bursts out, stopping all of my resistance.

I willingly let her pull me out of the room, watching her scoop up a little bag with a box inside. I really need to stop being so easy to bribe. I think to myself as we walk out of the dorm building.

"So, where to Weiss?" I ask, feeling the warm summer night's breeze wash over me. I take a deep breath and smile at the soft scent of grass. It reminds me of the woods on Patch that Yang used to play with me in.

"I was thinking that we could go to the clearing," she says, blushing for some reason.

I nod at her and lace my fingers between hers, smiling when she squeezes my hand. We stroll through the courtyard, softly lit by the light of the setting sun. Weiss tells me about her day and about the scene that went down just before Blake burst into the room.

"I understand why she reacted the way she did, but it was still no way for someone of her composure to react," she says as we enter the clearing, patting down her skirt and sitting down underneath the tallest oak tree.

Thinking for a second, I plop down beside my girlfriend and kiss her on the cheek. "No, I think that made sense. Wouldn't you react the same way if you heard that I was fooling around with somebody?"

Weiss looks taken aback at what I just said, covering her mouth with her hand. "You would fool around with somebody?" She looks like she's about to cry.

Oh Ruby you idiot, why would you say that?

"No! No! I would never, Weiss. I love you too much," I smile throwing my arms around her and burrowing my face into her neck.

"And you better remember that, Ruby Rose," she replies, giving me a quick peck that turns into something more.

I kiss her back and throw in a little bit of tongue, leaving her flustered when we come back up for air. Looking at me with her bedroom eyes, she unlaces my corset and pulls the shirt up, covering my breasts but exposing my stomach and lower chest. My one feature that stands out is the pink scar that contrasts the rest of my pale skin.

"It's pretty ugly huh? But still badass," I observe, grinning at Weiss as she rolls her eyes at me.

"No, you dolt. It isn't ugly. I think that it's the most beautiful thing in the world, besides you of course," she responds, looking at me with a mixture of sadness and happiness.

"What do you mean?"

She traces her hand along the jagged outline that I left myself with after my fall and looks into my eyes meaningfully. "It's not just a scar, Ruby. It's a reminder to myself that I need to be better. That I need to be stronger; I wasn't strong enough in Atlas and it almost cost you your life. If you died-" tears start to leak out of the corners of Weiss' eyes and she stops talking, looking directly at me.

The hurt look in her eyes makes my chest feel tight, and my eyes start to water. I don't want to ever put her through this kind of pain again.

"Weiss! That wasn't your fault at all. If anything, I'm to blame for it. I should have told you guys what I was going to do."

It doesn't look like that helped at all.

"Ruby, I _can't_ lose you," she tells me, getting in a few words in between gasping breaths.

"You won't," I respond, hugging her close to me.

"Promise?"

I somehow feel like we've had this conversation before, but I tell her what she wants to hear as my response still hasn't changed. "I promise."

She lays her head on my chest and looks up to me a little bit calmer. I stroke her hair soothingly and murmur sweet words to her, holding her until her breathing becomes even. The warm summer air blankets us, keeping us cozy. Eventually, Weiss' breathing slows and I realize that she's fallen asleep.

I wrap my cloak around her to keep her safe; it looks like we're sleeping out here tonight.

* * *

**A/N**

**Thanks for reading and stay tuned, some interesting things are going to happen. :)**


	22. Chapter 22: The Operation

**A/N Well today is the day; I'm back to this with what I'll call an invigorated story arc. It should be fun to watch this one play out.**

**If you have the time, check out my other work: ****A Compendium of RWBY**** for more of this stuff.**

**Fave, Follow, Review and above all, enjoy.**

* * *

**Blake**

The heat of the sun bears down against the top of the roofs, which would give us shelter if we weren't perched at the top of them. Below us, on the street level, the targets clad in red and white appear, standing at an inappropriately far distance away from each other. Fortunately, no unfriendly eyes spy us, thanks to the urban camouflage suits we're wearing.

For once, I wish I weren't wearing dark colors.

"Does everyone know their assignment?" I question, holding the button on my earpiece that allows me to project my voice to the rest of the team.

"Got it," the voices of Yang, Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune ring, with slight variations on their wording of course.

"Good," I reply, nodding over my team.

"Why are we doing this again?" Jaune asks, scratching his head as he fiddles with a piece of equipment.

"You're a Huntsman, aren't you?" Yang growls, an annoyed frown blanketing her face.

Jaune nods nervously and responds, "O-of course, but what does that have to do with-"

"It doesn't matter. We were given a job and whether or not you agree with it, it's your duty," Pyrrha interrupts, placing a reassuring hand on his back with a look in her eyes that I recognize as love.

It seems like their relationship is as strong as ever. That's important and why I brought them on this mission. Love has everything to do with it. Ren would be here too if I had a say, but he's back home, visiting his family. He said a sudden crisis had come up. To be honest, I expected Nora to go with him, but she insisted that she be here for this.

"Everyone, quickly. We need to get in position for the first checkpoint," Nora exclaims, leaping across the gap to the roof adjacent to this one.

We all follow quietly and position ourselves, Jaune stands at street level, looking as clueless as ever. Pyrrha assumes the role of overwatch, aimed down one of Ruby's old scopes that she provided to give us an edge. Nora tinkers with a few cans that we've managed to repurpose using the powdered dust that she uses in her grenades. Finally, Yang and I coordinate the effort, using the knowledge that the Jaune and Pyrrha collect together.

Yang turns my head and gives me a long, passionate kiss on the lips that, under a normal situation would get her into bed with me, but my focus is on the mission. Instead of pushing for another kiss, I smile at her, "We're organized well, and this could work."

"It will work," she says confidently, crouching besides Pyrrha.

She may be right.

* * *

We follow the targets to a public square, where they sit on the edge of a grand fountain, which is a relatively new addition to the city. It was erected to mark the end of the White Fang rebellions nearly two years ago. Considering the part that all of us played in that, it's only fitting that _this_ take place here as well.

"Jaune, get the microphone on. Now," Yang commands, motioning for all of us to move forward to the next rooftop.

"How are you guys?" Nora asks, completely out of the blue. "I mean, after Atlas. I've been sensing more nervous energy from the white and red sides of your team."

"Nora. Focus," I reply calmly, before silently scolding myself for that. "I'll tell you about it after this."

By her lack of protest, it seems like that satisfied her. She's right though, ever since Ruby's near death experience. Their teamwork has been a little bit . . . lopsided. Weiss insists on doing as much as she can and more, despite Ruby's willingness. That must be a strain on their relationship.

"Guys, I got something. Listen up," Jaune whispers. Momentarily, static overtakes his voice before it's replaced with Ruby and Weiss'.

"_Why_ can't I join the school tournament?" Ruby asks, dangling her legs over the edge of the fountain.

They've been arguing about this rankings tournament too. It's a new thing that Ozpin enacted to make the wait between Vytal festivals more bearable.

"Because," Weiss replies, turning her head away from the younger girl.

"Great answer, Weiss," Ruby grumbles, getting up and beginning to walk down the street.

"Where are you going?" Weiss asks, following her.

"Shoot, guys. I lost audio," Jaune says, dropping all of the equipment that he was in charge of in a panic. "Uh, what do we do now?"

"Ruby paid us good Lien for this, so we need to get it done," Yang replies.

"But Ruby's not sticking to the plan."

There's a moment of silence as our team decides what to do. Time's running out, we need to keep them in this district. It's the easiest one to work in since nobody looks at the top of these buildings.

"Then we need to come up with a new one. Jaune, stay down there. We're going to have to steer them in the right direction," Pyrrha announces confidently. Handing the scope to Yang, she leaps off of the building and lands like a feather on the concrete.

That's new.

"Whoa. Did you just use your semblance to levitate yourself?" Yang asks in awe.

"Well I technically used it to levitate my armor, but yes, I've been practicing. So far, it's only been useful in landing situations because I don't have the control I would like. Anyway, we're going to try to lead them to a restaurant and eat al fresco. I'll check in soon, keep an eye on us."

Taking Jaune's arm lovingly, Pyrrha runs towards Ruby and Weiss and taps the heiress on the shoulder, waving cheerfully. "Hello again."

Through Pyrrha's headset, we can make out the conversation faintly. Weiss smiles and Ruby looks on quizzically, before facepalming very quietly. I guess she just realized that she ruined the plan the she herself came up with.

"Have you two eaten yet? It's about lunchtime, isn't it?"

"No, we haven't. Are you hungry, Ruby?" Weiss asks, placing a gentle hand on her girlfriend's shoulder.

Ruby's face flushes, as we inadvertently complete a part of the mission. "Uh, well, I guess I could eat. Did you have anywhere in mind Pyrrha?" She asks, pleading with her eyes.

"Actually, I do."

* * *

The restaurant that they pick is only a few buildings off of where we're currently positioned. Pyrrha's marksmanship training gave us an advantage that I wouldn't have even have thought of and it seems like she knows how to be in the scope just as well as she knows how to aim it. We don't even need to move in order to get a vantage point on them. Before they were seated, Pyrrha went to the bathroom with Ruby and gave her Jaune's earpiece. They also managed to strip the bugs down to the minimal so that we have discreet, but clear audio.

"Ruby, let Pyrrha try to goad the conversation towards the tournament again," I say into my headset. A slight, nearly imperceptible nod tells me that she heard me.

"Why do we want them to fight again?" Nora asks, loading Magnhild with the can grenades that she made earlier in the day.

"They won't fight, because of Pyrrha. Weiss holds her in high regards, and still, after a year and a half wants to make a good impression," I answer.

"Good thinking, Kitty cat," Yang compliments, kissing me on the cheek.

"So, are either of you considering signing up for the rankings tournament?"

This gets an enthusiastic 'yes' from Ruby and a hard 'no' from Weiss, who folds her arms across her chest, looking away.

"Why not?" Pyrrha asks, cocking her head in mock confusion.

"Yeah, why not?" Ruby echoes, looking expectantly at her partner.

Weiss blatantly fumbles, trying to make up an excuse as to why they can't fight, but eventually sighs. "Ruby, you almost died. I don't think that you should be fighting for a while."

"Then I'm going to lose my touch. How am I supposed to be a Huntress if I can't be strong and bounce back?"

The sincerity in Ruby's voice sways Weiss' strong facade and she puts a reassuring hand on Ruby's knee, seemingly forgetting the couple across from them. "You can be strong without straining yourself. I just don't want you to get hurt again."

"I understand, Weiss. I love you so much and I appreciate that. But I'm not as fragile as you think I am," at that, Ruby envelops Weiss in a tender, loving hug.

That wasn't exactly how I planned this to go.

"I love you too, Ruby," Weiss responds, gently caressing her partners face. "And if it means that much to you, I suppose that I won't stop you from signing up for the tournament. On the condition that I sign up too."

"Weiss . . ." Ruby says, searching for something to say, when their waiter returns and places their food on the table.

"Enjoy yourself," I tell Pyrrha before removing my earpiece and putting it into my pocket. "Yang, you're entering the tournament, right?"

"Of course, Kitty cat. Aren't you?"

"Absolutely, I've been meaning to flex my fighting instinct ever since Atlas. From what Weiss told us, it was a rough fight. If something like that were to happen to you, I would want to be ready," I explain, smiling slyly.

She nods at me with a soft smile, and takes my hand. "Oh Nora, I guess we didn't need those grenades today, but keep them; they might be useful."

"Ok, are you two headed back to campus?" Nora asks, sheathing her grenade launcher on her back. "I'll catch up later; I need to get something for Ren,"

"Alright, we'll see you around," Yang returns, turning to me with a wink. "Race you to the airship stop."


	23. Chapter 23: Required Training

**UPDATE: If anyone is interested, you can find me on Tumblr at UnapollogeticallyAuthor. Yeah I dooked up the name, but there you will find updates and you can ask me questions about the story.**

**A/N I seem to be in a constant cycle of writing something and apologizing at the beginning of the thing. It turns out that summer gives me so much more to do, but even less time to do each individual thing. The time is now 3:54 Eastern Standard Time and I'm half dead, but here it is. Follow, Like, Review. Leave me some feedback for what I can do to make this arc a little bit more to all your likings. Thanks a bunch**

* * *

**Weiss**

Thin lances of sunlight pierce our curtain in various locations, illuminating the room dimly. Everything is as peaceful and quiet as it should be on a summer, Tuesday morning. My girlfriend, lying in our bed, breathes peacefully, still embraced by the warm grips of sleep.

For now.

She probably doesn't remember that first day. Why would she? In fact, I hope she _does_ remember though; it'll make this much easier. Inhaling deeply, I bring the small metal piece to my mouth and blow, creating a deafening screech which is immediately answered with two surprised shrieks, an ouch and a loud 'thud'. I spin around as a hand grabs my ankle.

"Weiss, what is _wrong _with you?" Yang growls, looking up at me from the floor. A rapidly forming bruise is yellowing along her arm "You woke up Blake!"

That was revenge against her for previous transgressions against me, but that wasn't why I did that. Behind me, my precious rose sits up, hurriedly wiping the sleep out of her eyes. "Are we under attack?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," I reply, kissing her on the cheek. "Now get out of bed, soldier!" To emphasize my authority, I blow on my whistle after the command.

It may be out of instinct, or due to panic, but she leaps to attention, saluting me before using her semblance to dash into the bathroom. I'm not questioning it. This whistle may be useful in certain situations.

With a sour look on her face, Blake swings her legs over the edge of her bed. "What's this all about, Weiss?" She asks calmly.

Placing the whistle in my bolero's pocket, I step to Yang and help her up, letting some of my aura flow into her arm to heal it. I've recently taken it upon myself to practice my healing capabilities in the event of injury in the field. Since I don't often fight on the front lines, it makes the most sense for me to be the healer anyway. Although I may be lying to myself; it's mainly because of Ruby. "That was just a bit of proactivity for the ranking tournament. I apologize for causing such a commotion so early."

Indifferently, Blake accepts my apology and lies back down. Yang, however, shrugs it off and lies beside her.

Suddenly, my red blur shoots past me and into our closet, moving like a whirlwind and when it stops spinning, Ruby stands before me completely clothed. How did she do that?

"Weiss. who's attacking us?" Ruby asks, melting me with her silver eyes and equally silver smile.

"Well . . . nobody's attacking _us_, but I'm attacking you," I reply, pulling out Myrtenaster and thrusting it at her. I'm not actually going to stab her though; at the tip of my weapon, I've focused a decent amount of my aura to blunt its tip.

"Whoa! Weiss! What are you doing?" Ruby asks, leaping out of the way to dodge my strike. She slams into Blake's bookshelf, knocking it onto herself.

"Ruby!" I didn't make sure there would be enough room, Weiss you moron. I scold myself as I run over to help my girlfriend. I shove the shelf off of her with inhuman force, knocking it into the wall.

The noise of the impact wakes up Yang, who looks at us with bright red eyes. "Hey!" she yells, "If you are going to make all that noise, leave!"

Ruby tries to protest, saying that we'll be quiet and that I didn't mean it, but Yang won't have any of it, instead picking the two of us up by our collars and literally _tossing_ us out the door.

"How impertinent, is that how you would treat your teammates?" I ask, pounding on the door.

"Weiss, stop it. You'll wake everyone up," Ruby pleads, tugging on my sleeve. "Come on, you owe me an explanation for that anyway."

I smile at her. "Don't worry, my love, you'll get way more than that."

* * *

No more than five minutes later, we sit in the cafeteria. It's still early, so the only other people in the room are Ruby and I along with the few early birds of Beacon. Ruby's inhaling her second stack of pancakes that are completely soaked in strawberry flavored sugar; that stuff doesn't deserve to be called syrup. On the other hand, I have an apple. It's much healthier than what she's having anyway.

"Sho Weish," she says, swallowing another mouthful. "Why did you attack me this morning?"

I take a bite out of my apple and chew slowly, trying to think of a way to dodge the question instead of answering it. She needs to see the reason, I can't tell her just yet. The truth is probably the best way to do this, although she won't need to know the _whole_ truth yet. "I promise that I'll tell you after breakfast, but I must take you somewhere first."

"Ooh, you can take me anywhere, Weiss," she replies, winking at me and subsequently giving me some of the most sensual way that she has in a while. I wonder why that is, I just knocked a book shelf onto her. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt at all; it was just really loud.

"Oh shut up, dolt," I rib playfully, smiling at the most beautiful girl in the world. That's actually part of the reason that I'm doing this. She's beautiful, but also fragile like a rose. She needs to be protected, or at least be able to protect herself. "Finish your pancakes."

Without any argument, she shoves the rest of the stack into her mouth, crossing her arms and gives me her best pouty face. I understand what message she's trying to convey to me; she wants to know and she wants to know now.

"Don't give me that look, Ruby. I promise that you'll know soon," I reason, placing my hand across the table.

Unfortunately for me, she doesn't react accordingly, instead increasing the intensity of her pout by adding puppy dog eyes to the mix. "Please, Weiss. You'll tell me if you love me." She states.

Her pout wavers slightly, she thinks that she's got me, but I have resolve. I, the heir of The Schnee Dust Company will not falter.

"Weeeeeiiiss," she whines loudly, taking my hands in hers and resting her head on them.

"Ok, Ruby," I cede, standing up and raising my hands defensively. I suppose that my so called iron will isn't as strong as I thought it was.

* * *

Within minutes, Ruby and I stand outside our grotto. A warm, but pleasant breeze blows and I get an irresistible urge to kiss my scarlet lover. While she's fixated on me, I draw her in and kiss her softly on the neck, which I recently learned is her weak spot. She shudders and breaths into my ear pleasurably. I release her and look into her eyes before giving her a long, kiss that should give her insight into my mind. After all, she's the only one who would be able to _know_ me. As we kiss, I hear someone clearing their throat and I nearly jump out of my skirt.

"I hope that we're not interrupting anything," Nora says, badly attempting to stifle a giggle. "If you guys are going to _do it_, let me know so I can record it."

"Nora!" Ren scolds, smiling slightly at the lightish red girl beside him.

"Sorry, Ren," Nora replies, giggling to herself giddily.

All that I can do is stand in embarrassment and curse my ill timing. I can feel myself blush until Ruby takes ahold of my hand. I guess it's not surprising that her touch can calm me; she's my everything.

"So, is everything set up?" Nora asks, unsheathing her grenade launcher with an excited look in her eyes.

"Yes, it is. Follow me," I respond, turning and walking into the grove.

As we clear the first layer of trees, a makeshift, wooden obstacle course is set up on multiple levels. It makes up a circuit that Ruby will run; hopefully she'll become stronger than she was. It's decidedly ragged, but Blake and Yang put in good work; even if they didn't know what they were building.

"Whoa. It's so . . . what is it, Weiss?" Ruby asks, cocking her head to the side.

"It's training; if you're going to compete in the tournament, I need to see that you can handle yourself."

Ruby looks down at the ground and I think that I may have upset her with my tough display of love. However, I'm wrong as she then looks up at me with a very familiar, fierce determination in her eyes that I've seen from her on countless occasions.

"Ok, so what do I need to do? Run the course?" She asks, getting into a sprinter's position.

I smile at her eagerness and raise my hand to stop her. "Nora, Pyrrha, Ren. Get into position if you please."

Ren gracefully leaps into the tree that overlooks the course and is soon joined by the other two.

"Uh, Weiss? What should I do?" Jaune asks, giving me one of his goofy smiles. Ugh, Ruby's been telling me to try to get better with this and treat people - specifically Jaune - with more respect, but he's just so incompetent some times that I cannot trust him with anything.

"Stand at the end of the course and . . . time her performance," I command, satisfied with the made up answer that I just gave him.

Jaune does as I asked and stands at what is both the beginning and the end of the circuit with his scroll out. After putting in some quick inputs, he looks up at me and nods.

"Ok Ruby, we all know that your strong suit is your speed, so I came up with the idea to create a speedrunning course. You just need to run it in under thirty seconds to pass."

"What do I get when I do?" She asks, smiling slyly at me.

"You get to compete in the tournament with my blessing," I reply, blushing softly. I know what she's getting at, but I'm not going to give her _that_.

"I want _that_ too, Weiss," Ruby says with certainty.

As I'm about to protest, she gives me the puppy dog eyes again and I melt under her gaze. "Fine, but if that's the case I'm changing the time to twenty seconds."

"_Twenty_?" She interjects incredulously.

"What's wrong, Ruby? Don't you think you can do it?" I taunt, trying to use this to my advantage. I was really hoping to improve her speed by a small interval, but with the determined look that she shoots back to me I think that I'll be able to get even more.

"Of course I can do it," she says, narrowing her eyes at me before returning to the sprinter's position. "I'm ready."

"Alright," I turn to Jaune to give him more participation in the training. "On your mark, Jaune."

"One . . . Two . . . Three . . . Mark!"

Ruby takes off, sprinting towards the first obstacle; a set of four wooden hurdles of varying height. This obstacle will test her ability to adapt quickly. As she approaches the hurdles, she does something that surprises me. Right before the first hurdle, she drops to the ground and slides right through all of them.

I frown at that; I wasn't expecting her to do something other than try to leap over it. The second obstacle is slalom. However, this is where it begins to get a little bit trickier for her.

"Now!" Nora yells, firing an explosive round from her grenade launcher. At least, it would be an explosive round if she hadn't pre-loaded her weapon with cans filled with paint and explosive dust. I don't know where she got them, but they ended up being useful. At the same time, Pyrrha scopes in with her rifle and fires meticulously, aiming for Ruby's legs and Ren fires aura out of his stormflower.

Besides Blake,

"Whoa!" Ruby yells, avoiding the impact by swerving right into one of the slalom poles, but not stopping to lose momentum. She doesn't complain. Her motivation is completely fueled by her desire for _that_.

Ruby rushes past that obstacle, nearly unscathed and moves onto the last. The final obstacle is a wooden board that's stood up on its side. The catch is that Ruby needs to run along the side of it while avoiding the gunfire from the three JNPR members.

She doesn't hesitate, sprinting directly into the salvo of Pyrrha's paintballs, Ren's blunt aura shots and Nora's grenades. The board is peppered with bright colors and dust is thrown up into the air cinematically, clouding my view. However, the cloud apparently doesn't obscure Jaune's view as he stops the timer. The gunfire stops and at the finish line, Ruby lays on the ground with her left hand barely across it.

I run to her and carefully get to my knees, rolling her over and cradling her head in my lap. "Ruby? Can you hear me?" I ask frantically, feeling her body for anything that might be bruised, broken or bloody.

Suddenly she takes a deep breath, coughs and looks into my eyes. "What . . . time . . . did I get?"

Jaune walks over with his team and looks down, smiling at the younger girl. Then he shoots a look at me and raises his scroll. "Nineteen and a half seconds," he responds, placing his scroll in his hoodie's pocket.

"Is that a joke?" I ask, feeling my face redden slightly. I calculated that she should average about fortyseven seconds per run. The number should have gone up for her first attempt too. Even having the JNPR team members was supposed to make it more difficult for her. How could that have happened?

"Weiss . . . do I joke?" Jaune asks, getting a giggle and eye roll from Pyrrha. I still think she can do better than _him_, but that's her business.

Ruby reaches up to my face with a paint splattered hand and gently touches my cheek. "Weiss, please," she says, looking at me expectantly.

It can't be avoided; a Schnee always follows through with her promises. "Ruby, you are the most thoughtful, loving, amazing girlfriend that I could ever have and I'm so _so_ immensely happy." My face turns completely red and I lean in to kiss her. Only she has a different plan and flips me onto the floor - with everyone still present - and straddles me, looking over her shoulder.

"Guys, if you could-" she begins, but team JNPR is already walking away. Naughtily, she kisses me on my collarbone, which is one of my weak spots and all but tears my bolero off.

How did it end up like this?

* * *

**A/N For anyone wondering the thing that Ruby wanted was for Weiss to publicly gush about her. Weiss would have a problem with that because of the cold and professional front that she always tries to present. Thanks for reading and please spread this around if you liked it :).**


	24. Chapter 24: Required Training Part Two

**A/N Finally the summer mood is kicking into swing. No joke, I'm going to shoot for a weekly release. This story should be updated every Wednesday until its conclusion.**

**Also for you Freezerburn/ Ladybug fans check out my story **_**That Which Burns Cold**_**. It has a similar structure to the first eight chapters of this story, but it'll be noticeably different.**

**Finally, I'm on tumblr too at UnapollogeticallyAuthor, I screwed up the spelling in my haste, but there you go. You can follow me if you want; it's what you would expect from a fanfic writer.**

* * *

**Yang**

If it's not loud morning sex, it's something stupid like that. I slam the door behind team Whiterose, huffing angrily. It's too early for whatever it is they're up to.

Once they're gone and the quiet returns, I begin to calm down a little bit. Adjusting my tank top, I find my way back into bed next to my beautiful Faunus girlfriend. When I lie back down, Blake shifts her position to face me, content showing in her equally beautiful amber eyes.

"Are they gone?" She murmurs although she already knows the answer.

"What do you think?" I ask her, smiling sleepily. The way that her hair drapes her shoulders illuminates her face by contrast allowing me to see her in all her perfection.

She nuzzles into my chest, inhaling deeply and looks into my eyes. Her amber ones practically glow. "I think that I like it when you're assertive."

"Oh yeah?" I inquire, making a groggy attempt to cup her breast. She easily deflects it and rolls onto her back, stretching and giving me a tantalizing view of her abs.

Thinking of abs, I remember that I need to be training. Normally, I would follow my very precise and organized schedule to make sure that I tone every part of my body that needs toning, but I haven't been able to follow it since Atlas. _That_ reminds me that the school's ranking tournament is next week. Blake and I have put off training for it, still clinging to the past victories that we've achieved. These thoughts alone shake me completely out of my sleepiness.

"Blake!" I yell, leaping out of bed. The sudden intensity and noise startles her and she leaps to her feet instinctually.

"What is it?" She asks, her Gambol Shroud appearing in her hand as though she had worn it on her back.

"The tournament! It's _next_ _week_," I exclaim, pulling my tank top off and throwing on my normal yellow undershirt. "We need to get to work or Ruby and Weiss will knock us right off the leaderboard. Do you understand what this means? We _need_ to outperform them or they'll never let us live it down."

Blake looks at me quizzically, but realization ghosts across her face, kicking her into motion. "You're right. We need to practice," she says calmly, untying her kimono and letting it pool around her ankles.

I know that she's testing my self-control, as self-control when it comes to combat is one of the most important aspects of fighting; I need to know when I have a real opening and when my opponent is giving me a strategic free shot. I won't let her win, although the combined sight and thought of her sleeping completely naked with nothing but the kimono covering her shapely frame causes a slight tingle between my legs.

I ignore it and finish getting dressed, pulling my boots up to my shins. They might be seen as a little bit impractical, but it's starting to get colder and these boots are the most comfortable pieces of clothing in my wardrobe.

By the time I'm fully dressed, Blake stands near the doorway, dressed a new looking, blank, purple tee shirt over black tights. Her outfit is as simple as outfits go, but she looks incredible.

"Are you sure you want to wear that, Yang?" She asks, wearing an amused look on her face.

I cock my head at her and brush my hair over my left shoulder with my hands. What does she mean? "Why not?"

She smiles at me and shakes her head, stepping out the door and holding it open for me.

"So, where to, Miss Belladonna?" I ask as if the idea of training was hers rather than mine.

To my surprise, she takes a hold of my hand and answers, "Actually, I do have an idea. Come on"

She takes me through the campus and into the cafeteria. My stomach rumbles on instinct and I follow Blake into the kitchen. As I go to grab a plate, Blake lashes out, slapping my hand away.

"Ouch, what was that for? Can't I have breakfast, Kitty Cat?" I ask, looking at her pleadingly. To support my point, my stomach rumbles again, even louder than it did before.

"Sorry, Yang. I promise that we can get food afterwards." She steps towards the china and silverware shelves and opens them, taking out a teacup and matching saucer. "_This_ is what we're here for," she states, trying to hand me both pieces.

"Wait, I can't have any food, but you can have tea?" I ask, folding my arms. A pout - one that's more serious than mocking for once - forms on my lower lip.

"Yang it's for training not drinking," she explains calmly. Before I can argue the point, she puts the cup and saucer down, walks up to me and places her hands on my pecs. "You're being a baby."

I grin, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her close to me. "Yeah, but I'm _your _baby," I promise, moving my face close to hers.

She traces a path over my collarbone and across my shoulder, sliding her right hand into my hair. Pressing it to the back of my head, she draws me in and softly presses her barely open lips to mine. Even now, her scent and taste accelerate my heart rate make my head spin.

"Whoa, this is a public place. Get a room!" Nora jokes, walking past us with Ren in tow. "I'm just kidding; we're guilty of that too."

"Nora!" Ren exclaims, causing her to clamp her hands over her mouth.

Then as soon as they got here, they leave with plates moderately loaded with various breakfast foods. As she walks out the kitchen doors, Nora shoots us a wink.

I turn back to Blake who has all but turned beet red. That's weird; she's been dating me for almost eight months now. I'm surprised that she can still feel shame.

Regardless, I feel a twinge of pity for her and decide to make a subject, "ok, so what's the cup and plate for?" I ask, picking them up and stashing them in my jacket pockets.

My question seemingly shakes her out of her embarrassment, "you'll see when we get there," she replies simply, walking out of the room.

To make the walk seem shorter than it actually is, I make jokes the whole time and point out stupid things that students staying on campus do. It actually works and eventually, she's laughing and smiling in the way that I'm sure can only come from me.

Eventually, we stop by a creek that I didn't even know was on campus. Blake turns to me and reaches into my pockets, removing the china. Handing me the saucer, she dips the cup into the stream and fills it with water. The stream's running so it's safe to drink, but I hope that she doesn't all the same.

"Here, hold this for a second?" She asks, forcing the cup onto me.

Confused, but not exactly stopping it, I take the cup and watch as she ties her hair up into a neat black bun.

"Are we going to start training?" I ask, standing still with my hands full."

She looks at me and smirks, folding her arms, "Ok, Yang. You're too impetuous," she says suddenly, shoving me. As I learned when push comes to shove, it's better to roll with the punches than try to have them roll off of you. I let her force throw me back and position my feet so that when I land, I land completely stable.

"Whoa! Where did that come from?" I ask. I can feel my eyes shifting color from purple to red. In my right hand, the cup of water begins to steam and I take a deep breath, relaxing myself.

"Case in point," she replies, walking over to me. "I'm sorry that I shoved you, Yang." She takes the cup and saucer from my hand and inspects in, looking satisfied with what she sees. "This is good, it's heated adequately and not a single drop was spilled. Here, try to keep it as it is and fend off my attack. This will help you train your control."

"Why do I need control, Blake? You've seen me fight. I can handle anyone and anything thrown at me," I reply, smiling confidently.

She hands the cup back to me on top of the saucer and unsheathes Gambol Shroud, changing it into its ranged form. She looks at me and narrows her eyes, taking aim at something behind me before firing. The projectile shoots by my ear and finds its mark with a loud crack. I turn around and see a rock with a smooth dent in it as though it were hit with the pommel of a sword.

"What was that supposed to show me?" I ask, scratching my head with my free hand.

"Yang, you rely on shotgun shells to fight right?" She asks, knowing full well that I do. Her rhetorical question makes me frown. "What if you didn't have to? What if you could fight and use your aura as a projectile instead of a slug?"

She has a point, the longer a fight is drawn on, the smaller my ammo supply becomes. Once I'm out, I need to rely on my physical strength and hand to hand combat skill alone.

"Yang, I've been with you for a long time. I know that you're capable of using aura like that," she says, unfolding her weapon into its sword form.

"I still don't get what the cup is for." I look down and watch the tendrils of steam as they reach up into the air and are swallowed.

"To be able to use aura like a bullet, you need to be able to control it. The cup's just there to help you visualize your aura," she explains, sheathing her weapon in its scabbard. "Everyone's aura manifests in different ways and since yours is heat, I figured that this would be the easiest way."

The certainty in her voice gives me assurance and, of course, I trust her judgment, but this tea cup reminds me of Neo for some reason. I'm not sure that I'll be able to control my aura with that thought in mind.

It's like she can read my mind. "Yang, your anger is what fuels your semblance. When you're fueled by your semblance, you become a force to be reckoned with." She pauses, "It's not like you aren't powerful without it. But if you could control it, I believe that you could be unstoppable."

I feel my heart well up with love for the girl before me. Her faith touches me and I beam at her, wanting - no needing to get this right. "Well if that's what you think, then I guess that I'll give this a shot."

She smiles at me and readies her sheathed weapon. "Then get ready, here I come," she announces, circling me with an eye on the cup.

Dashing towards me with her weapon at her side, she feints right and strikes left. Although I knew she was going to because we spar together so frequently. I easily block right with my free left hand, but the attack never lands. Instead, Blake feints again and leaps upwards, using a shadow clone to propel her higher.

That's new.

I roll back, but keep the saucer and cup level the entire time. As I roll, I focus my aura on the cup to keep it both safe and hot. When I reorient myself, I see blake rocketing towards me with her weapon outstretched. Barely raising my left gauntlet up in time, I deflect her attack and redirect her momentum to my left side. I swivel my head with a victorious smirk on my face, just in time for Blake's boot to find it. When did she get so fast?

For a split second, I don't feel anything, but when the feeling comes, it hits really hard. I fly backwards and the cup flies into the air, its contents splashing me with nearly boiling water. It all happens so quickly that I can't do anything except yell - not from pain, but from surprise.

* * *

My eyes flutter open and I look up into Blake's concerned eyes. Also, my top is off for some reason. "Uh, Blake?" I croak.

She places her finger to her lips in reply and helps me sit up, handing me a small bottle of water, which I take and greedily chug, exhaling in satisfaction once it's done. "Blake?" I ask, testing my voice.

"I had to get your top off to keep you from getting burned. You blacked out for a little bit."

I swear she can read my mind.

"Well what happened?" I ask, eyeing my jacket close to me. I pick it up and put it in, covering my bare breasts.

"I tried a new attack out and it worked well. I'm sorry," she apologizes, kissing me on the cheek.

"Kitty Cat, you know that I don't care about being beat by _you_," I remind her, hitting her in the arm playfully.

"I'm just glad that you aren't hurt, Yang. I love you," she says, standing up and helping me to my feet.

I smile to myself and take her hand, letting her help me up, "I know," I reply. Now it's her turn to hit me in the arm, shaking her head. "Ouch, ok I love you too, Blakey."

"Yang, try to fire a round at that rock," she says suddenly, folding her arms with a look of curiosity on her face.

I have no idea why she would want me to do that, but I decide to humor her, cocking my gauntlets and throwing a straight punch. My gun goes off, but no projectile comes out. That's weird; I swear that I loaded this last night.

"How . . . bizarre, I felt a change in your aura when you were knocked out. I . . . you should be able to use your aura now," she says, a cute furrow forming in her brow.

"Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough, we can try again later," I say, taking the jacket back off and winking at her. "I want to go for a swim, you coming?"

She smiles back at me and reaches behind her hands behind her head, letting her hair down, "I wouldn't miss it."


	25. Chapter 25: Nigh

**A/N: Well.**

***UPDATE* Sorry, but for personal reasons, I have to miss one upload week and will instead be updating this story on July 15th 2015**

* * *

**Ruby**

I shouldn't be this nervous; this is something that we've done many times before. Why should this time be any different? Maybe if I tell myself that enough times, I'll start to believe it.

She stands with all of the grace and beauty that I've come to love. A five mile per hour wind blows from my right, courtesy of Jaune and Pyrrha's - mostly Pyrrha's - combined effort. She uses her semblance to rotate Jaune's Crocea Mors like a fan, but at a very high speed. I told her earlier that she really didn't need to do this, but she insisted on helping.

"Are you ready?" Weiss calls out from across the field, her hair let down and somehow blowing picturesquely over her shoulder.

"I guess so," I shout, readying Crescent Rose and holding it at shoulder level. The sun's rays are in my eye and I can't sight in right - I don't understand why I need to do this, but if it helps Weiss feel better, I'll do it.

"Ok. Nora may I?" she asks, holding her left hand out.

"Sure, but don't forget our deal," Nora replies cheerfully, handing Weiss Magnhild.

Weiss scoffs, a teasing smile playing across her face. "I couldn't if I wanted to, Nora."

Satisfied, Nora steps back and drops onto the grass, next to Ren who takes her hand affectionately.

Looking back at me, Weiss empties Magnhild of most of its rounds and lets them fall to her feet with muted clattering before pulling Myrtenaster out of her waistband.

"Should we have a countdown?" Jaune asks from the sideline, probably fishing for something to do. Poor guy, Weiss never lets him do anything.

Weiss visibly slumps her shoulders, but quickly fixes her posture. "Sure, Jaune. Why don't you count down from five?" She asks with obvious condescension in her voice.

I giggle, feeling bad for him, but at the same time understanding where Weiss is coming from. Even with the training that Pyrrha has given him both on off the battlefield, he's still not one hundred percent dependable.

"Yes! Five . . . Four . . . Three . . . Two . . . One!" He yells.

Weiss creates a glyph by her feet, seemingly gripping all of Nora's grenades and throwing them into the air. Creating a second vertical glyph, she catches and holds them in the air. In response, I press Crescent Rose against my shoulder and aim down its sight. Seeing that I'm ready, Weiss pokes her right index finger at one of the grenades. The precision strike launches it towards me in an arc and I roll forward squeezing the trigger to fire my baby. I figured that at this range, the effect of the wind would be almost negligible. The bullet flies through the air, its bearing is changed, but not drastically and my bullet clips the edge of the grenade, causing it to spin off course and explode harmlessly away from all of us.

"Ruby, remember to always factor the wind into your pattern," Pyrrha calls from the sideline. She's right, on the battlefield, taking shortcuts could get me or more importantly Weiss killed.

I nod at her, taking aim at Weiss and waiting for the next round. She pokes her finger separately at two grenades and launches them both in two separate flight patterns towards me. This time, I correctly factor the wind in like Uncle Qrow showed me and hit both grenades dead center before they start to fall.

I smile triumphantly at my girlfriend, who gives me a look in return that says not to get comfortable. I eject my clip for good measure and reload just in time for Weiss to toss the rest of them at me randomly.

Lightning fast, I sight in and fire two shots at each of the three grenades just to make sure that I do the job. The bullets spiral through the air hitting their marks - at least I think they do and creating two pink clouds of dust.

The last grenade gets hit somewhere on the grenades side, giving it a back-spin that spirals it towards me.

At the last possible second I dive out of the way, trying to avoid it, but can't and the grenade hits the floor behind me. The explosion that comes afterwards knocks me clear off my feet and forward, throwing me into the air. Luckily for me, when I land, I land on something soft and white.

"Wow, Weiss! Nice catch," Jaune explains, clearly impressed.

Weiss though, obviously isn't and rolls to her side, letting me slide off of her gently. Before getting up, she inspects me for anything wrong, "Ruby, are you alright?"

As much as I appreciate that concern of hers, I wish she would stop asking me that. Why doesn't she understand that if I wasn't alright, I would tell her?

"I am. Can we do something else now?" I ask, getting to my feet and running my hands through my hair.

"Yes," Weiss begins, getting to her feet and patting herself down.

She reaches for my hand, but is interrupted by Nora, who holds up Magnhild with its cylinder freshly filled with ammo. "Not so fast, Weiss. You're not getting out of this one."

"Wait, Ruby just got blown into the air. Why don't we . . . reconvene tomorrow?" Weiss stammers, holding up her hands defensively.

Maybe I am a little bit hurt, but not physically, it's more emotional and I don't even know why. Maybe I'm not thinking straight because I grab Magnhild and shoot Nora a look, stopping any protest before it starts.

"Nora. If you don't mind, I want to do it," I request, positioning my hand around its handle.

The face that Weiss makes is one of momentary betrayal, but it quickly turns to ice cold determination.

"Sorry, Princess," I call from across the field, holding the weapon at my waist.

She scoffs, drawing Myrtenaster elegantly and facing me with a smirk. "I'm sure you are, Ruby."

Nobody dares to interfere because I guess they feel the tension between Weiss and I. After a quick adjustment, Weiss nods, telling me that she's ready for me.

Unlike her glyphs, this grenade launcher was built for this task and, well, launches the first grenade through the sky.

Weiss cycles Myrtenaster cylinder and fires a blue line of dust infused aura. The two projectiles crash into each other midair and react. The grenade freezes and drops to the ground like a stone.

Without giving her time to recover, I fire a salvo of three more grenades. Just as quickly, Weiss does a backwards somersault to gain distance before following up with her own salvo. The energy strikes the grenades and again drops them to the ground. Unlike my bullets, her aura doesn't need a direct hit to stop the projectiles.

She gives me another confident look and something inside me snaps. I can feel sorrow, anger and frustration welling up inside me - or spilling over at least.

_This'll _wipe that smirk off of her face, I think, squeezing the trigger. Just as I fire the final round, she recovers her form and everything moves in slow motion. I drop Magnhild, realizing what I just did and before Weiss can react, the grenade hits her in the chest. Suddenly, she's flying through the air clouded in pink smoke.

If it wasn't for my super speed, she might have been really hurt. Luckily I was able to catch her. She lands pretty hard and we fly backwards, bouncing off the ground twice.

Synchronized 'ouches' ring through the air when we finally come to a stop accompanied by the sound of footsteps on the ground.

* * *

I think I might have blacked out because when I come to, I'm lying in bed and my team is standing over me.

"Are you ok?" Yang asks, putting her hand on my back and helping me sit up.

"What? What happened?" I ask, pressing my hand against the bed to push myself into an upright position.

"I don't know, Ruby. What do you remember?" Weiss asks, resting her right hand on her waist. I open my mouth to respond, but the look in her eyes shuts me up. "Blake, Yang. Could we have some privacy?"

Yang smiles knowingly and winks at me. Blake, however looks on with a grim face before walking out of the room. At this point, my heart's living in my throat, beating almost faster than I can run and I don't know why.

When Blake and Yang are well out of the way and left the room, Weiss pulls a chair up beside the bed and sits down without another word, giving me the same, disgusted look that she gave me when we first met.

"Weiss, what's wrong?" I ask, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.

She doesn't even meet my gaze when she says the only thing that I've been afraid of since the start of our relationship.

"Ruby. I think we need to break up."

* * *

**A/N: There is angst in this arc. What I still need is reviews to know what's working and what isn't, maybe to tell me what you think about the story so far. I'm sorry for **_**that**_** by the way. If it could have led anywhere else, I would have pushed it in that direction, but you know. Thanks for reading.**


	26. Chapter 26: Nigh Part Two

**A/N Hi everyone I'm going to be taking a 2 week hiatus, sorry. I'm going to be working on a personal project for a little while, but this will come back. Until then, here's a conclusion to the last chapter.**

**UPDATE AGAIN: Sorry, having too much fun on this break. New stuff will resume in september :P**

* * *

**Weiss**

I feel the impact of the grenade before I can hear it as it detonates near me. I don't know why, but the explosion is red and black, rather than Nora's usual flashy pink. The next thing I feel is the ground, knocking the breath out of me. When I look up, I see my precious rose on top of me . . . again and remember what happened.

"Ruby?" I ask, nudging her shoulder. Instead of responding to me, her head rolls to the side and I feel a slight tinge of worry. Fortunately, I don't have to call out because both Nora and Ren were on standby.

I get up and cradle Ruby's head on my lap as they run towards us. Ren kneels down beside her and takes a deep breath, channeling his aura into his palms. With his eyes shut, he hovers them up and down her body, assessing the damage with his aura.

"Did you guys see what happened?" I ask, holding my left hand to her forehead.

Just then, Jaune and Pyrrha arrive on the scene. They both scratch their heads and smile evasively, but fail to answer my question. I look to Nora and Ren, who both seem absorbed in checking on Ruby.

"What?" I ask authoritatively. I lay Ruby's head down on the grass with care to avoid injuring her more than she might already be.

Even if they're all going to ignore me, I know that there's one person I can coerce into telling me something. "Jaune, I would really appreciate it if you told me what happened," I whisper, getting closer to him than I would ever like to be.

Pyrrha shoots me a dirty look filled with jealously and I make a mental note to send her a nice dust gift basket.

"Uh I-I I'm not sure if I should say," he stammers, blushing profusely.

I take his arm in mine and smile at him. "It would make me ever so happy."

"Rubytriedtohurtyouwiththegrenadelauncher," he reels off, clapping his hands over his mouth afterwards.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yells, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him out of the field. "We need to have a talk."

A mixture of anger, sorrow and guilt wells up in my chest and I look at Ruby. My _precious rose_. Why would she do that? It must have been something that I did - the Ruby that I fell in love with wouldn't hurt a fly, but also wouldn't bat an eyelash at murdering a pack of Beowolves. I think she owes me an explanation.

"Ren, how is she?" I ask, genuinely concerned for her. After all, she's still my partner if not anything else to me.

He looks up at me a twinge of sadness in his eyes, "She'll be fine, just give her a few hours of rest."

The news takes a little bit of the weight off of my chest, but also clears my head a little bit. While that would normally be a good thing, it gives me more room to think about what Jaune said. Instead of showing it, I just smile albeit sadly, "Thanks so much. Nora, Ren would you mind helping me take her back?"

* * *

As we walk up to our dorms, I can hear Pyrrha and Jaune's muffled argument - or rather, I can hear Pyrrha yelling at Jaune. Maybe I should take her out to dinner instead.

Inside the dorm, Blake and Yang sit, playing that card game that they like so much, Gwent.

Yang looks over and opens her mouth to speak, but decides against it at the last second instead returning to her game.

As Ren and Nora set her down on our bed, I thank them and they leave, hopefully to rectify the situation in their own dorm. When they're gone, an uneasy quiet settles in the room aside from Yang swearing or slapping her leg every few minutes.

I don't know what to think or do. I mean, I get angry at Ruby sometimes, but it's never to the point where I'd want to hurt her. I would never do that. Would I?

Eventually the quiet in the room gets on my nerves to the point that I decide to do something about it. "Blake, could I have a word with you in the hallway?"

Both she and Yang look at me with amused looks on their faces. "Yes, Professor Schnee," she replies mockingly although I know it's to keep up appearances for Yang.

"What's this about, Weiss?" She asks when we're both out of the dorm. "You've been . . . off ever since Atlas."

Her concern affirms my thought; I know that I can tell Blake anything about my relationship with Ruby. She can keep a secret better than anyone that I know.

"Am I an awful person?" I lean against the wall and pinch the bridge of my nose. "I pushed Ruby so hard that she apparently tried to . . . with Nora's weapon." Hopefully she can fill in the blank.

"Weiss, you're a lot of things, but a bad person isn't one of them." She thinks for a moment and looks into my eyes. "That's not why you wanted to speak to me." The way she phrased that wasn't a question, it was a statement.

I sigh in resignation, "You're right. What should I do? I love Ruby to death, but I don't know what to _do_ here."

"Weiss, all I can say is that for this - you and Ruby to work, you need to be completely honest with her. It's the least she deserves." Without another word, she walks back into the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

If Ruby were ever in the same position as me, I would want her to be straight with me. Not straight straight, because we're at least a little bit gay or I am anyway. Regardless, I would appreciate frankness. That only leaves me with one choice: How to handle this.

When I walk into the room, Blake and Yang stand over Ruby as she begins to stir with soft moans. The sight of her calms my aching nerves and helps me make a decision. I still want to be with her, but she needs to learn that she needs to tell me the truth no matter how much it might hurt me because obviously, letting it build up made it much worse.

I join my two teammates and as if alerted by my presence, Ruby opens her eyes.

"Are you ok?" Yang asks, leaning over to help Ruby into an upright position.

"What? What happened?" She asks, pushing her right hand against the bed for stability.

"I don't know, Ruby. What do you remember?" I ask, shooting daggers into her with my eyes.

I hope she recognizes the look, seeing as it's the same one that I used to give her before we got close. She opens her mouth to respond to me, but decides against it. Smart.

"Blake, Yang. Could we have some privacy?" I ask, not turning to face either of them. Instead I keep my eyes trained on Ruby and like a cornered animal, she's hypnotized and unable to move. Soon, I hear the door close behind me and walk to our table. I move the chair in front of it to the side of our bed and sit down, crossing my legs.

"Weiss, what's wrong?" She looks at me and I can see fear mixed with guilt clouding her eyes. If she looked hard enough, past the cold disdain that I'm putting up, she would see the same fear and guilt in my own.

I don't look at her when I respond; it may be childish - it is childish, but I have to do this. "Ruby, I don't think we should be together."

Ruby shoots to her feet in panic, "Why? What did I do?" She asks frantically.

"You know, Ruby. What did you do?" I fold my arms but stand my ground. She looks at me confused, and scratches her head.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she says, entirely freaking out.

Based on her reaction, I know that my point has been made, but it would make me feel a little bit better if she would own up to what she allegedly did. It would even make me feel better if she would apologize even without knowing what she's done. I frown internally; that might make me a bad person.

"When we were training did you or did you not shoot at me with the intention to hurt me?" I ask pointedly.

She hesitates ever so slightly, but I see it. "N - no of course not!" she exclaims. I glare at her and the little resolve that she has breaks. Slumping her shoulders dejectedly, she nods her head and sniffles quietly. "I'm so sorry, Weiss."

Weiss you dolt. I didn't want to make her cry. "Ruby it's alright. You _did _take the brunt of the attack. Even if you meant to hurt me, you immediately regretted it," I explain, sitting beside her and gingerly wrapping my arms around her. "Because of that, I'm willing to stay with you."'

She perks up when I say that and nuzzles into my chest, throwing her arms around me.

"Just a minute, there's a condition," I say, a small smile momentarily across my face.

"Oh." Her shoulders slump again and she looks up at me nervously.

"You have to promise to tell me if I'm ever being annoying or pushing you too hard." On the last word of the sentence, I poke her nose with my index finger to lighten the mood a little bit.

"I will. Promise," she sniffles, wiping her eyes and giving me a silver smile.

"Come here, get out of those clothes and lay with me," I command, patting the bed. "And no, we're not having sex. I just want to relax with you."

She looks happy regardless and quickly follows my orders, but still. The tournament is a few days away and we have a lot of work to do. Right now though, I think Ruby deserves some rest.


	27. Chapter 27: Convocation

**A/N Hello, I deleted the most recent chapter because I decided that this is where the story should end, with a look to the future of the show. I didn't feel like I should write a tournament with a tournament coming up in volume three so instead I'm leaving it up to you guys to speculate what would happen. Don't worry, I will be writing another whiterose/bumblebee fic sometime after volume three or before it leading into volume three.**

**Feel free to check out my one shots and definitely look forward to more content in the future. Thanks for your continued support :).**

* * *

**Blake**

"Good morning. As always, I'll try to keep this brief," Professor Ozpin says, taking a sip from his ubiquitous coffee mug. "After the Vytal festival, two years ago, I decided that it would be a good idea to have a similar event within the school. Today is the start of the Beacon's first ranking tournament. Fight hard, fight well, and remember your training. Good luck."

With that, Professor Ozpin turns the microphone over to Professor Goodwitch. I sneak a glance at Yang and smile, seeing her all worked up for this. Over the past week, she's been training so hard. She might not be completely aware of the things going on between Ruby and Weiss, and honestly, their relationship has been stronger than ever. After that day that team JNPR brought Ruby in unconscious, I had the chance to talk to Weiss. Fortunately, love prevailed, and while the couple of days after were strained for them, they've completely rebounded.

"The format of the tournament will be single elimination. Each combatant will have the chance to choose their own opponent by submitting their desired opponent via their scrolls. Submissions will be drawn and announced by two pm. Dismissed," she inputs a few commands into her scroll and a massive timer appears on the screen behind the stage. It reads 3:00.

Three hours to think of an opponent.

"I'm winning this thing!" Yang yells, throwing a punch into the air.

Weiss scoffs and crosses her arms, standing close to Ruby. "You can't win as long as Ruby and I are in still in."

She extends her left arm to Ruby and flips to her palm. Ruby smacks down in a windmill motion, until their hands meet in a very smooth high five. "Yeah, that's right, Yang. You're going to have to fight one of us eventually."

Yang laughs and rustles her little sister's hair. Weiss makes a noise that sounds almost like a growl, scaring my partner to me. "Blake, you've been quiet. Well quieter than usual, what's up?"

I take Yang's hand and pull her away from team Whiterose. They don't notice; Ruby's talking Weiss' ear off, but she doesn't seem to mind. "Yang, I think we should approach this with caution."

"Why's that, kitty cat?" She responds, looking at me with a literally hot bravado in her eyes.

"Because, Yang. You still haven't mastered aura bullets." I wrap my arms around her waist and look into her eyes. "You're going to have to be careful if you want to last against the others. Especially Ruby and Weiss."

"What? I totally have that under control. Yesterday I got _five_ shots off in a row," she protests, giving me the pouting look that she must have taught to Ruby.

"Yes, but you tried to fire at least forty." I sigh, realizing that I'm being too harsh. She's right; over the last week there has been a noticeable increase in her aura control. Resting my head on her chest, I take a deep breath of her scent. "Yang, I love you. Please try to be careful."

She gives me her signature same self-assured smile, pressing herself into me. "You know that's not how I roll, but if it'll make you feel better, I promise."

I know that she's lying. You can't change your fighting style on command, but even so, I'm content. Sometimes, a sweet lie is better to hear than a painful truth.

Weiss and Ruby interrupt us at that moment and we break apart. "So, what was that about?" Ruby asks, trying to take Weiss' hand in her own. Weiss, in a very comical fashion moves her hand just out of reach of Ruby's. Relentlessly, Ruby goes after it until finally, Weiss gives up, her face flushing almost immediately. It's hard to believe that they've been dating for as long as they have.

"I was just giving Yang some advice for the tournament. We may face each other so I thought that I should tell her in private," I reply.

Ruby nods, accepting the answer and almost immediately perks up. "Oh! Let's go get a quick snack before the tournament starts." Her stomach rumbles as if on cue, and Weiss can't help but smile.

I don't know how good of an idea it is to snack right before an event like this, but having some extra energy wouldn't hurt. Also, once Ruby has her mind set on something, it's kind of hard to change it.

* * *

By the look of it, the entire school had the same idea, and when we reach the cafeteria, there are hardly any seats left. Fortunately, the ones that are open are near our friends from JNPR. We weave our way through the sea of people, finally stopping when we reach a corner with a window on our left and our right. "Good Morning!" Nora sings, throwing her arms into the air enthusiastically before continuing to inhale the pancakes on her plate. She also doesn't hesitate to reach over to Ren's, but he clearly doesn't mind at all.

Like me, he probably didn't want any food, but took them for Nora's sake. How _sweet_ of him. I giggle at my own pun, but stop myself short. Yang really is rubbing off on me.

"What's so funny, Blake?" Jaune asks, looking up from his X-Ray and Vav comic. Typical, it figures that he wouldn't be taking this that seriously. Although, with Pyrrha training alongside him, I don't know how seriously he really needs to take it.

"I'm just remembering a joke from earlier," I lie.

We settle in across from team JNPR as usual, and as I sit down, my teammates get up to get food.

"So Blake, do you know who you want to fight in the tournament?" Pyrrha asks nonchalantly.

Pyrrha, the tournament fighter that she is, has been in a situation like this many times before she's probably hoping to get an edge from my response.

"I don't have anyone in mind," I reply, equally nonchalant. "What about you?"

"Me? I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may," she responds with a hint of a smile on her lips.

At that moment, my team returns with the spoils of the kitchen. Small fortunes worth of eggs and bacon pile their plates, and though I didn't ask for it, Ruby gives me a cup of my favorite tea. I can't help but smile at gesture.

As everyone starts, or in Nora's case, continues to eat, Yang sits down beside me and takes my arm in hers. Feeling her warmth beside me is one of my life's simple pleasures.

* * *

"You shee," Ruby says, swallowing a spoonful of scrambled eggs. I must have blacked out while they were talking. "If I have to fight anyone bigger than me, I'll have to keep them guessing. I can't just do what you do Nora."

Nora frowns at Ruby's response, finishing the last of her and Ren's shared pancakes.

"Ruby, what Nora's trying to say is that in your own way, you can overpower larger opponents. The difference is that you'll have to use speed instead of brute strength," Ren offers, translating what must have been a vague statement from Nora into language that we can understand.

"Exactly!" Nora exclaims, getting up. "Anyway, I'm going to get going, it's almost twelve, and I need to check my ammo. See you later."

Ren follows her, as expected. I doubt that he lets her make her own ammo if he can help it. If there's anything that I learned about that from Yang, it's that making shells with her usually results in better or more consistent ammo. It must have something to do with our complementary personalities.

"Morning, kitty Cat," Yang says, kissing me on the top of my head. "You didn't get much sleep last night, huh?"

"You would know," I reply in a hushed tone, looking at her accusingly. On the nights when we get . . . frisky, I really don't get any sleep.

She winks at me flirtatiously, and I roll my eyes in response. "Wanna go check my ammo too?"

"Sure," I answer. I figured that I would stop getting anxious before these things after the Vytal festival. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of luck.

* * *

We sit on our bed in the dorm. Our sheets are completely stripped, and it's better that they were because Yang is getting black dust everywhere. It's a good thing that we practiced aura control for the whole week before the tournament.

"Ok so I have two clips of twelve slugs, and two clips of twelve explosive rounds. Do you think that's enough?" She asks, wiping her hands on her shorts.

"That, combined with your theoretically unlimited supply of aura bullets should be enough."

She nods, satisfied with my answer and takes a deep breath, shuddering with excitement.

I check my scroll and it reads one fifty. We should probably head down to the arena. The pairings are going to be announced. All I need to do is look up, and Yang nods, completely understanding me.

"Oh shoot!" Yang yells, frantically typing inputs into her scroll. "I forgot to put my challenge into the system." She facepalms, smearing black dust all over her face. "I'm locked out of the system."

The look of distress on her face makes me want to hug her. So I do. She seems surprised for some reason as I wrap my arms around her waist, and even more surprised when I reach my right hand around her neck, tilting her head down to mine. When I kiss her, I can feel her pulse quicken, like it always does. Her kiss isn't aggressive and demanding like it was last night when she gave me a happy surprise. Instead, it's calming, soothing, familiar.

After Yang gets over the initial shock of the kiss, she pushes against me slightly to no avail. I'm in control right now. She takes the hint and puts her arms on my back, pushing me into her. I could stay in a moment like this forever. When I finally unwillingly pull away from her, she bursts out into laughter and I don't understand why.

"Blake! We really need to wash up before we go downstairs." She leads me into the bathroom and I see immediately what she's talking about. My lips are coated in the black dust, giving the illusion that I'm wearing black lipstick.

"I kind of like the black, what about you?" I smile teasingly.

"I prefer you au naturel," she replies quickly. She must have been sitting on that one for a while.

Yang and I quickly wash our faces in the sink and grab her ammo, loading one clip of slugs in both chambers of Ember Celica.

After that, it's time for us to head to the arena.

* * *

Finding the remainder of our team is easy; they're next to team JNPR, and may as well have been competing to see who could cheer loudest. The only problem with that is that the combat hasn't even started yet.

"You guys! Over here!" Ruby yells, unaware of her volume.

Regardless of that fact, Yang and I move through the sea of people until we're beside them. It's a good thing too, because pretty much as soon as we sit down, Professor Goodwitch begins to speak.

"Good afternoon. Throughout the morning, a high number of students submitted their challenges. The spirit of competition is precisely one of the reasons why we decided to hold this tournament. Through the adversity created by situations you wouldn't normally find yourself in, you will see your teammates, and friends grow and adapt. I hope that everyone's happy with their first round pairings," she says, displaying her scroll on the big screen that's used to display aura levels. "Good luck."

I look over to my team and smile confidently. With all the training that we've done since Atlas, I don't think we'll need luck.


End file.
